With the coming to power of ex President Blair, Parliament and our democracy was effectively emasculated. Many MPs of the Labour Party will say that they were bye-passed by 10 Downing Street (a good example being the Iraq war with all the deceit/decisions going on behind closed doors), Committees have been loaded with Labour Party hacks loaded and instructed by Party whips and the Parliamentary process itself was a mockery. Another example of Downing Street (Executive) interference was the Judiciary, the key appointments to the judiciary (not admitted but clearly influenced by a QC wife)and sentencing policy where Government has clearly instructed judges and magistrates to reduce sentences both in terms of their type and duration.
The expenses scandal has been the catalyst that now brings to the fore, the need for wholesale, root and branch change of what purports to be our democracy which is in fact, the most cunning and cleverly hidden autocracy bordering on dictatorship in the western world.
On Sunday, we had Clegg from the Lib Dems advocating thorough change on the Politics Programme, yesterday we had Johnson and Milliband coming from Labour wanting change and today we have Cameron wanting to take every vestige of Parliament apart to bring in a new regime.
What I would ask politicians of all parties is, why is it only now, after the proverbial really hits the fan, does all and sundry start wanting change. Labour have had twelve years to bring in change yet they have overseen the greatest threat to our democracy with Blair stamping all over the place to deny the electorate any power at all. Indeed Blair would have done away with back bench MPs having power if he could have got away with it, let alone the electorate. The electorate to Blair were akin to a load of serfs and thickies. Only he and his friends knew what was good for them.
Cameron has been in charge of the Tory Party – what, some 3 years. I have heard him oppose Lib Dem proposals for “proportional representation” but I have heard nothing else come from him during that time – albeit there have been a few weak comments advocating “fixed term parliaments”. As for the Lib Dems, who has heard anything from them other than “proportional representation”. A discredited system where the best example is Italy where, because of it, they are forced to have coalition governments with elections every year. Even if we had it the best the Lib Dems would do is gain a few more MPs – they certainly would not gain power.
Our democracy does need root and branch change, from top to bottom and in every nook and cranny. If my MP is on the fiddle, I want a mechanism where I and others of a like mind can hold him/her to account and sack him. I want the Prime Minister to draw his powers from MPs assembled in Parliament, not him in Downing Street making the decisions and confronting MPS with a fait accompli.
Yes, now all three parties are wanting change, pity none of them wanted it sooner and I think we can be forgiven for being a little cynical as to their motives and timing. I think fiddled expenses has much to do with it.

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