Douglas Carswell's Blog

Bercow is restoring purpose to Parliament

Each day that I walk into the House of Commons, I marvel at the history and the heritage around me.   

And then I think of how supine and spineless Parliament has become.

An earlier generation of MPs fought a bloody civil war to assert the House of Common's right to set taxes.  Today, we meekly rubber stamp billion pound budget decisions taken by Treasury officials (think caravan tax, think charity tax).

Parliamentarians once insisted that they, the legislature, control the executive - not the other way round.  Today, too many yes-men and women compete with one another to do the executive's bidding in return for some fatuous "promotion".

But it is not all bad news.  The House of Commons is beginning to get off its knees.  Partly it is down to technology - digital democracy is dissolving deferential democracy.  But part of it is down to the current Speaker, John Bercow.

Bercow is restoring purpose to Parliament.  Tediously even-handed when it comes handling different political parties, Bercow possesses the one prejudice that every Commons Speaker should hold; against the frontbenches and in favour of the backbenches.

Bercow allows lots ordinary MPs to table Urgent Questions, which helps keep ministers on their toes. He selects amendments on the basis of which ones might test the government's position, however inconvenient they might find it. 

He speeds up the tempo of debates - which makes it harder for ministers to bleather their way out of a tight spot. 

Not surprisingly, ministers grumble, whips whine, and some have been know to get jolly cross.  But that ought to merely reassure us that the Speaker is doing the right thing.

This Sunday at 1:30pm, I take part in a Radio 4 programme about the Speaker.  Do tune in.

Those who want to see Parliament rediscover its purpose should back Bercow.  

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