Category Archives: Parliament

Jul 03 2009 0 comments

TheyWorkForYou.com overhauled by MySociety: Extends back to 1935

MySociety, the non-profit organisation lead by Tom Steinberg, has redesigned their TheyWorkforYou.com website with data about UK Parliamentary politics.

The site provides easily accessible records of the UK Parliamentary process, and now contains data going back to 1935.

This gem is from Churchill commenting in 1939 on the result of the Munich Agreement made by Prime Minister Chamberlain in 1938. It is strangely relevant to our current overseas entanglements:

I should also like to praise the Government and the Secretary of State for the declaration that they have made that it is our duty to provide 19 Divisions from this country, apart from our Reserves in India and the Middle East, for general service overseas should the occasion require it. That is a momentous declaration. I have rarely heard anything so important stated in a Service Debate. Anyone can see the explanation. It is the first instalment of the bill for Munich. People say that we are not involved in the affairs of these remote countries, but afterwards it is found that they alter the whole life of the people of this country, their daily habits, their financial position, their trade, everything. This is the first instalment. I wish I could think it was the last instalment of this bill which has come in, but I am afraid that other drafts will be presented month after month and year after year through the greater part of our lifetime. It is a great pity that this statement was not made a year or two years ago.

Political anoraks are going to rub their hands in anticipation, and probably lose the entire weekend to anoractivities (sorry).

The site has also been redesigned, and Tom Steinberg the Director of MySociety has requested feedback about the new version:

Please give some constructive criticism on how it could be even better (please note, focussing on design here, we already have a load of feature priorities to deliver). The extension of coverage back to 1935 has involved the import of a large amount of data.

Each speech has a unique web address, and can be referenced individually in online articles. Annotation may also be left on the site by the public.

MySociety also provides a range of other websites designed to strengthen the democratic process. In April a version of TheyWorkForYou.com was launched to cover the Irish Dail at KildareStreet.com. Kildare Street is co-ordinated by John Handelaar, who reported that 9,000 people visited the site during the first month of its existence.

The site redesign was done by Richard Pope, and the import of the mass of data was overseen by Matthew Somerville.

I also have a piece on the Press Gazette site.

Communication, Constitution, Parliament, Politics
Jul 02 2009 0 comments

Lord Martin of Expenses

michael-martin-lordsSo we have the first Speaker to be forced out of his job in 300 years - a convention-breaking act - and now, with the excuse of “convention”, he is going to be elevated to the House of Lords.

Michael Martin does not deserve a seat in the upper House. His tenure has Speaker was a disaster and has brought the House of Commons into disrepute. He encouraged the expenses abuses by MPs - and made plenty of his inappropriate expense claims. And neither was he ever impartial whilst in the Chair.

No-one considers it appropriate for Martin to become a Lord. Not the Lords Appointment Commission, current Lords, former Speakers, or the general public. No-one but Gordon Brown and Labour MPs, that is.

Michael Martin was a terrible speaker, and as a member of the House of Lords, he will damage the reputation of the upper House as well.

House Of Lords, Parliament, Politics
Jun 24 2009 0 comments

Going tieless

tim-yeo-tielessPaul Waugh reports that when the new Speaker, John Bercow, was elected another first was happening as well. An MP was - wait for it - tieless!

Amid all the hubbub in the chamber last night, Tim Yeo got away with something no honourable member has got away with before. The dapper former minister was, wait for it, tieless.

Yup, no necktie, just a smart open-necked shirt and jacket.

Shocking indeed.

Who cares how MPs are dressed, as long as they look reasonably smart, if they are doing their job well? It’s what they do not what they wear that is important.

Senior politicians - Conservatives especially - often appear on TV without a tie and sometimes even without a jacket! But they still look smart, or at least smart enough. Especially considering how ugly some ties they wear are.*

The import is in dressing for the occasion - I wouldn’t wear a suit and tie to go canvassing in most places and I wouldn’t turn up to an important meeting in jeans and t-shirt. If Tim were to make an important speech in Parliament tie-less, it would probably be inappropriate - but just to attend and listen to/take part in debates? I can’t see a problem.

In the 21st century, a tie really is not essential wear. What purpose does it really serve? Very little.

* Did anyone see John Bercow’s tie yesterday? It’s worse than one of Iain Dale’s!

Fashion, Parliament
Jun 22 2009 0 comments

Dammit, no Speaker Widdy

Ann Widdecombe, who was my choice for Speaker, was eliminated in the second round of voting by MPs who instead chose John Bercow as the new Speaker.

Like Matt Wardman, I’m not impressed. His acceptance speech demonstrates that he doesn’t really get it:

We do have to reform but I just want to say that I continue to believe that the vast majority of members of this House are upright, decent, honourable people who have come into politics, not to feather their nests, but because they have heeded the call of public service.

He doesn’t even seem to accept that the public see most MPs as pigs with their snouts in the trough - whether fairly or unfairly. The point is that until significant reforms are put in place and a general election is held, Parliament and MPs will not and can not be seen as clean or as representative of the people’s will.

If Bercow does not accept that and swiftly take action on reform, he should (and hopefully would) be swiftly removed by a fresh Parliament.

Now, I’m not a fan of Bercow - but he has been elected and so should be given a chance. For now. However much like a child being allowed to sit in an adults seat he looks in the Speakers chair.

Parliament, Politics
Jun 22 2009 3 comments

Electing the new Speaker

speakers-chairToday the House of Commons elects a new Speaker. A little while ago, when Michael Martin finally resigned, I wrote a post on the qualities that are needed in the new Speaker:

  1. Non-partisan
  2. Uncorrupted and uncorruptable
  3. A parliamentarian
  4. Independent and impartial
  5. Professionalism
  6. Public profile
  7. A reformer

And who are the candidates?

  • Margaret Beckett
  • Sir Alan Beith
  • John Bercow
  • Sir Patrick Cormack
  • Parmjit Dhanda
  • Sir Alan Haselhurst
  • Sir Michael Lord
  • Richard Shepherd
  • Ann Widdecombe
  • Sir George Young

And how do they do?

Get the whole story »

Parliament, Politics
Jun 18 2009 0 comments

MPs *blank*: what a load of *blankety* *blank*

Are we playing a game of Blankety Blank with our MPs? Just look at the “redacted” expense forms that they have published:

redacted-mp-expenses

Making sense of any of the PDFs is virtually impossible with all the blacking out - and we get virtually no information from it.

We are very lucky that the Telegraph managed to get hold of the uncensored data or we would not know about pretty much all of the things that we have found so disgusting and have caused several MPs to say that they will stand down.

This so-called publication of MPs receipts has done nothing to help the politicians look good - rather, they look even worse! As if they’re trying to hide what has already been revealed.

What will be interesting is the compariosn when the Telegrpah publish both sets of details alongside each other, and we can see just how much they were trying to hide from us.

Money, Parliament, Politics