Liberal Burblings

Archive for the ‘House of Commons’ Category

After watching this little waspish encounter with Tom Bradby, that would be my advice.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOZidiWwwz0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

Oh joy! What a pleasure to see Cameron, applauding Bercow, and looking as if he (Cameron) had swallowed a wasp. All those Tories with their arms folded. And Alan Duncan on BBC Breakfast managed only to bring himself to say that Bercow is “capable” and that the position of Speaker should be “respected”.

But Bercow is, at least, a moderate break with the Gentlemen’s Club tradition.

Sir George Young, patrician Eton-educated baronet – now he would have been the “Club” choice. What sort of message would that have given the country?

But Bercow? He’s the son of a taxi driver! Dear, dear. Bought his own furniture. From MFI. Definitely a chap who would be serially black-balled.

It’s just not on.

Despite opposing such a system for their own election, I note that MPs are using, essentially, Single Transferable Vote for the election of their new Speaker. OK. It’s not STV. But it’s sort of STV with flock instinct and extra faffing about thrown in.

Goodness knows why they don’t just go the whole hog and use STV. But no, they have to have rounds and physical eliminations and print new ballot papers and spend hours doing it with the electorate walking in and out several times. What numpties! The only reason I can see to do the vote in rounds rather than just doing STV in the first place, is that it allows a “flock instinct” to enter the contest. MPs can see who others voted for as first preference before deciding their second preference or changing their first preference. One might call it “Grandiose STV“.

With advance apologies to STV-nuts who will no doubt soak me in adverse comments.

When I was trawling through the Telegraph’s summaries of MPs’ expensegates, my eye was caught by Laura Moffat, MP for Crawley, who now sleeps on a camp-bed in her office when she can’t get home at a reasonable hour. There all sorts of critical comments under the story – proving that at the moment, as an MP, you can’t do anything right. But I think this lady deserves some praise. The spirit of David Penhaligon (sleeping arrangements section only) lives on?

Pot/Kettle department. The Feral Beast column in the Independent on Sunday has run a couple of pieces highlighting Westminster lobby journalists who have failed to fully declare their interests, as they are required to do. Apparently, passes may be withdrawn….

Last week:

Much talk of MPs failing to declare their interests – but do parliamentary journalists?
In the latest Register of Journalists’ Interests, Fraser Nelson declares himself as a commentator for The Spectator, forgetting his lucrative News of the World column; Andrew Neil, calls himself publisher of The Business, even though it no longer exists, and omits to mention his many other jobs; Andrew Gimson doesn’t say he is Boris Johnson’s biographer; Robin Oakley and Melissa Kite fail to declare their columns for The Spectator;…All are breaking parliamentary rules. Can’t they get their house in order?

And this week:

After my revelation that several lobby journalists have failed to declare extra incomes on the register of parliamentary interests, the Commons registrar tells me the offence could lead to the withdrawal of their passes. None of those named and shamed last week, including Andrew Neil, Robin Oakley, Melissa Kite and Andrew Gimson, has yet corrected their entries, nor has any yet been punished.

There’s an interesting piece in the Times tomorrow. As the suggestion of a regular commenter, I ran a poll a week or so ago asking how many MPs would be left in the House of Commons after the next election. The top choice was 300-400 with 31%, followed by 200-300 with 22%.

The Times says that 325 MPs will be “swept away” at the next election either by standing down prior to it, deselection or simply ejection by the voters.

As many as 30 will be forced to resign directly because of the expenses scandal, while whips expect more than 200 to quit because they are unable to cope with continued public anger. Up to 90 MPs will be voted out in the election.

Research conducted by The Sunday Times and Professor Colin Rallings, director of the elections centre at Plymouth University, suggests that about 170 Labour MPs will not defend their seats while 55 Conservatives are also expected to retire.

Dozens more MPs from all parties are likely to lose their seats as voters kick out incumbents, accused of profiting from their allowances.

Rallings said: “If, as the current polls suggest, the Conservatives were to win the general election with an overall majority of 80 seats, it is likely that fully half of MPs in the new House of Commons will be new, a product both of incumbents being defeated and MPs retiring. It would be without parallel since 1945.”

…The Liberal Democrats expect about five departures…