Democratic deficiency........another voice

A commentator presents a rather dystopian view of politics, with a political caste which is totally disengaged from an increasingly alienated electorate who are bereft of choices in throwing the rascal out. This is not just in the UK. One of the worrying aspects of European politics is the growth of extreme nationalist parties and their growing success in elections, supported by the cosy consensus politics of coalition governance.

Is there no answer.

Well, yes. Here is my five-point plan.

1.   Candidates should be selected in primary elections open to all registered members of the constituency party. The Tories ran a prototype in one of their West Country constituencies. The locals gave the boot to the outsiders parachuted in by Central Office and selected a well-known, well-liked lady doctor. She walked it! The method would ensure that there were no carpet-baggers and that the MP represented their interests rather than his own.

2.   It should be a condition that the MP’s principal residence is situated within the constituency. The reasons for this are blindingly obvious.

3.   Late-night sittings, abolished at the behest of Blair’s babes, should be reinstated, enabling MPs to have proper jobs as in the past. The invention of politics as a profession instead of a calling is a principal reason for  a supine Commons, the power of the Whips, and general corruption.

4.   MPs (and peers) should get the standard rate of daily subsistence and travel costs at the standard civil service rate. This would stop expenses fraud in its tracks. MPs caught fiddling could simply be prosecuted as would be a civil servant instead of being white-washed by their buddies in the Houses of Parliament.

5.   It should be a requirement that MPs spend at least one full day each month at their ‘surgeries’.

What is the prospect of all this happening? About the same as turkeys voting for Christmas.

And apropos European politics, you would think that the epicentre of the EU, Belgium, would be squeaky clean. So here is a piece from European Voice.

‘Belgium was the naughtiest EU member state of last year, with the ECJ ruling against the country for failing to implement EU law no less than nine times. Various southern European countries were pretty naughty too: Italy and Portugal were slapped with eight rulings each, and Spain seven. France and Germany were both pretty naughty Europeans as well, losing six and five cases respectively, while Greece lost four.

Taking the longer view, the picture looks worryingly similar. Between 2007 and 2011, the UK lost 14 court cases for failing to implement EU law, while Germany lost 25, France 36, Spain 56 and Italy 66’.