AS/A2 revision: Whither Parliament?

The MPs’ expenses row has thrown up a lot of intelligent comment about the purpose of MPs and the role of the legislature in the democratic process. It is this author’s view that lots of MPs do work hard and perform an effective role, but it’s just that the good work they do does not involve legislating or (with the possible exception of some select committee work) checking the executive. MPs do work hard in representing their constituents and often serve as a last resort for frightened and frustrated individuals. Henry Porter in the Observer writes at length about how ineffective MPs are as legislators. Useful reference material when considering the extent to which Parliament performs its functions effectively, or even in considering the relative effectiveness of legislatures from a synoptic perspective.

‘At the heart of the [expenses] story is the supremacy of the executive and the lassitude of Parliament. As Frank Field pointed out in an article on Comment is Free: “Week after week, MPs have been turning up but with almost no serious work to do. There is the odd bill to be sure. But there is no legislative programme to speak of. Even the debates that are put on to fill in time are those that deny MPs a vote. The whole exercise is vacuous.”

The facts bear out his sketch. In the current session, Parliament will spend 143 days in recess. MPs took 24 days holiday at Christmas, 10 days in February, 17 at Easter and now they have the prospect of 10 days at Whitsun plus a summer break of 82 days. Not bad for basic pay and allowances of £180,000 a year.

Set against this is the time allowed by the insufferable leader of the house, Harriet Harman, for the debate of yet another criminal justice bill - the Policing and Crime Bill 2008-09. The Lib Dem MP Evan Harris pointed out at the Manifesto Club last week that the bill has been given just six-and-a-half hours for debate. During that time, MPs will be expected to scrutinise measures that will create a new offence of paying for sex, modify the law on soliciting, tighten regulations on lap-dancing clubs, introduce powers to allow police to deal with young people drinking in public, introduce new codes for the sale of alcohol, amend criminal asset recovery schemes and change airport security and policing laws.

That’s a lot of difficult issues to cram into just six-and-a-half hours when there are literally months to spare. What this tells us is that Harriet Harman is hostile to proper scrutiny and that in reality Parliament no longer matters. The government goes through the motions of debate but essentially acts by decree: the house rarely sits after Thursday afternoon; all-night debates are a thing of the past; and secondary legislation, largely un-debated and unscrutinised, has doubled in the past 20 years. It is a wonder that MPs have not risen up to reclaim Parliament and tell the whips to get lost, but so many are trapped by the system of patronage and the ambition to be part of a largely pointless government cohort they stay silent.’