Ban MPs from second jobs? We should be encouraging them November 28, 2019 New governments seldom seek to discourage employment. Ministries live and die by their ability to get people into work. Yet in one sector, the Labour party has made a manifesto promise of reducing jobs — by banning members of parliament from taking paid work outside the House. Really, this is the wrong way around. Parliamentarians [...]
The secret to how people really become MPs November 19, 2019 The election is 23 days away, and the close of nominations last week has confirmed the runners and riders: 3,322 people seeking a place on the green benches. Yet despite the enthusiasm of the thousands, from Advance Together (five candidates) to the Young People’s Party UK (three candidates), most seats remain a foregone conclusion. Unless [...]
This parliament has taught us the strength of our democracy November 5, 2019 The 57th parliament of the United Kingdom officially comes to an end tomorrow. It has seen off a Prime Minister, survived a prorogation that wasn’t, and failed to deliver Brexit. Decried by the attorney general as a “zombie parliament”, it has gone to the country in search of new brains. It will have a curious [...]
Order, order: The race is on to replace John Bercow October 10, 2019 The departure of John Bercow from the speakership of the House of Commons will create a vacancy of huge importance. Yesterday, nine hopefuls vied with each other for the honour of replacing him, answering journalists’ questions on everything from the impartiality of the role, to Westminster’s alleged drug problem, to the rules on breast-feeding in [...]
Trying to impeach Boris would be an unmitigated catastrophe October 2, 2019 Rumours are swirling in Westminster of a plot to impeach Boris Johnson. The news broke over the weekend that, inspired perhaps by the US Democrats’ move against Donald Trump, opposition parties are considering moving to strip the Prime Minister of his position. This is foolish and dangerous. For a start, it is entirely unclear if [...]
We should celebrate the glory of Britain’s unwritten constitution September 25, 2019 For most of the Cold War, there sat in a safe in Whitehall a 16-chapter document. It was a game plan for when the bombs started falling. In four minutes, as the warning sirens wailed, the United Kingdom would be turned from a constitutional monarchy to 12 regional mini-kingdoms. Each would be overseen by a [...]
Real lives will be ruined by the delay to the laws dropped with the prorogation of parliament September 17, 2019 The prorogation of parliament has been variously cast as an attempted coup or a smart move in delivering the referendum mandate. Either way, many among both the fans and the critics have overlooked the impact that the end of a parliamentary term can have on real people. For when parliament is prorogued, dissolved or dismissed, [...]
Stuffing the House of Lords with your friends is practically a parliamentary tradition August 29, 2019 To consolidate his Brexit position, Boris Johnson is rumoured to be lining up a selection of “Brexit heroes” for elevation to the Lords – a line of eurosceptics in ermine, ready to take to the red benches to shore up his support in the upper house. It is a politically expedient plan, with the Conservatives [...]
A brief lesson in governments of national unity, and why they won’t solve Brexit August 19, 2019 A struggling pound, a Labour leader at odds with his backbenches, and a government trying to pursue multiple contradictory aims. It may sound like last week, but it was in fact the state of things in 1931. The answer, echoed by some today, was a government of national unity – elements of the three main [...]
The Club of Former Prime Ministers welcomes its latest member: Theresa May July 30, 2019 With Boris Johnson parading into Downing Street and the drama of the chopping and changing of cabinet, it’s easy to forget that Theresa May too has acquired a new role: former Prime Minister. It is a peculiar position to be in. One is freed from the constraints of parliamentary ambition, but also chastened by the [...]
