Who do you want to be the next speaker of the House of Commons?

[untethered]

I doubt I'd need to explain the relevaance to anyone who struggles to pay for/receive them

Perhaps you could spend the time you'd save explaining the nuances of running a business, practising law and medicine and running public services to them instead.

 

[Azrael]

aah, tory wishes to reduce backbenchers ability to scrutinise the government substantially, quelle surprise

Do MPs currently spend their time "scrutinising the government substantially"? Given the quantity of useless, bureaucratic and authoritarian law, and the abysmal quality of most ministers, I suggest they don't.

 

[untethered]

aah, tory wishes to reduce backbenchers ability to scrutinise the government substantially, quelle surprise

If Parliament manufactured fewer laws (surely something on which we could all agree) then it could devote more time to each one.

Incidentally I'm not a Tory.

 

[Azrael]

Urban seems to have quite a few posters who are mistaken for Tories. There must be some actual Conservatives (big C) out there.

 

[belboid]

Do MPs currently spend their time "scrutinising the government substantially"? Given the quantity of useless, bureaucratic and authoritarian law, and the abysmal quality of most ministers, I suggest they don't.

i didnt say they did, said that your proposal would substantially cut the time that is availalbe. Not the same thing at all

 

[belboid]

Urban seems to have quite a few posters who are mistaken for Tories.

I wonder why??!!

 

[Azrael]

i didnt say they did, said that your proposal would substantially cut the time that is availalbe. Not the same thing at all

It would cut the time some were sitting in the Commons. My point is, since most don't use the time they have to scrutinise, why is that such a loss?

 

[Azrael]

I wonder why??!!

Maybe because some people are fond of assumptions?

 

[belboid]

cos things should be made better, not worse?

Just a thought, like

 

[Azrael]

You think I want things made worse?

 

[belboid]

you seem to want even less scrutiny of government, thats..... not good

 

[Azrael]

I want far more scrutiny of governments, which is why I want MPs to be independent of them.

How do you suggest scrutiny be increased?

 

[belboid]

by having to go through workers' tribunals

(seriously, if you want a thorough discussion about how you would reform parliament, you need to start t a thread on it, ones like this will always end up as sprawling onto an almost random piecemeal list of other things that need to be put in place to back up the original single demand)

 

[agricola]

Its worth pointing out that in previous years there were people from working-class occupations in Parliament as MPs (indeed arguably at greater numbers than exist now), thanks largely to Labour's habit of selecting union types as PPCs.

 

[gosub]

Long term, starting to think Mr Bercow has been outmaneuvered by Frank Field

 

[JHE]

Long term, starting to think Mr Bercow has been outmaneuvered by Frank Field

Sorry, that's a little cryptic. Are you suggesting that, after the next election, the Tories will oust Bercow, whom they don't like, and install Field, whom they do like?

I reckon Bercow would have to fuck up badly to get ousted. As long as he's impartial in dealing with the different parties, I don't think the Tories need worry about Bercow not being to their taste.

 

[gosub]

I think Mr Bercow is pegged to any reform coming out of this crippled Parliament, and that he will have to stand for reelection to push it through, and that Mr Field has behaved well enough to be a viable challenger(eta eton + eton +eton won't wash) regardless of the make up of the next Commons, though projected election results would also favour him.

 

[agricola]

Bercow really is a joke.

There was just a sequence of points of order relating around his earlier boast that he would hold ministers to account if they leaked / briefed statements to the media before the Commons. Not only did Ed Balls tour the various newsrooms doing this this morning (as well as personally threatening the Spectator's Fraser Nelson), but also apparently there has been a written statement released by the Home Secretary at 1545 (to the Commons), the media being briefed upon it around 1300.

The Speaker has had his minions look carefully into this and can find no evidence that it happened.

 

[BadlyDrawnGirl]

Had to go for the comedy option really. What a thoroughly depressing bunch of jokers.

 

[butchersapron]

Bercow's provenance

 

[agricola]

Bercow has just responded to last week's point of order criticizing his own leaked speech (the contents of which appeared on the BBC website before he had actually made it) by suggesting that such questioning of his motives and behaviour was absolutely unacceptable, he would be very tough on it, that such questions were what is damaging parliament etc etc etc

 

[gosub]

Not than many articles showing for that showing on google news, but of the two articles I could I find BBC and politics.co.uk that seems a misrepresentation, as both report him as saying he had nothing to do with the leaks and pointing finger at party whips

 

[agricola]

Not than many articles showing for that showing on google news, but of the two articles I could I find BBC and politics.co.uk that seems a misrepresentation, as both report him as saying he had nothing to do with the leaks and pointing finger at party whips

Indeed, I seem to have missed that bit. Apologies!