/diary0006 
Robin Cook is a good man. He is an earnest politician, now corralled in the Commons as its "Leader", and looking for things to do. He must play the cards that have been dealt to him, following his glory
years as Foreign Secretary. No politician can do more. And in a major interview in The Guardian Jackie Ashley, explores his plans.
"There is no alternative to Commons reform,"
says Cook, "if we are going to restore public esteem for Parliament." He is troubled by low voting turn-outs, archaic electoral practices, and envisages a massive extension of the use of the Web for citizen consultation. And the Commons Select Committee system is to be beefed up, partly to enhance their interest to the public, and viewability. Other campaigners would add proportional representation and Votes at 16, for which the Electoral Reform Society is currently contending. They would all, it is argued, increase the legitimacy of the Commons, and thus its esteem.
But all this misses the point,
in my view. What is needed is not the constant refinement of the central institutions,
rendering
centralised government more and more "legitimate". The problem is that centralised government itself is a big yawn. What is needed is the genuine redistribution of power,to regions and cities and local communities - whatever the mode of election.
Redistribution of power would galvanise public interest, if people could make a practical impact upon their own communities. Public interest in Westminster is low, for the very good reason that new legislation is not itself regarded as important. The anti-hunting March on London was the exception that proved the rule.
Parliament is principally a centralised legislature, a production line for new legislation. The role of "calling the Executive to account" carries little weight, and I doubt if it ever did. Lobby groups and the media are better at that. What does Parliament have to say about traffic congestion,
late trains,
dirty streets, local muggings, local racial discrimination, hooliganism on Saturday nights? Nothing. These are matters for other arms of government.
The need is to open up public access to all those other arms of government, and to devolve
But merely enhancing the legitimacy and esteem of Parliament will do nothing to engage that interest. Robin Cook is merely repainting the lifeboats on the Titanic.
Let's be clear.
I am no
"federalist". All my political instincts are to retain the coherence of the UK state, and the integrative role of Westminster institutions. I am no Welsh nationalist. Psychologically, I remain a Commons wannabee , and I still envy those who have the opportunity to serve as an MP. I think the Wales devolution formula is constitutionally sound, the Scots formula less so.
But Thatcher unwisely centralised too much, in her passion to disengage the state from society, and Labour should move in a different direction. We have made a start, with Scots and Welsh devolution, but it is no more than a start. We should centralise only those decisions with need to be decided centrally, and redistribute those that do not.
The challenge to Labour is one of simple democracy. Democratic openness remains the best precaution against corruption, destructive
elitism, and public disenchantment. We should be conducting a democratic audit of
all our institutions. We should commit ourselves to the reinvigoration of public
participation at all levels, the more local the better. No great change will come
of tinkering with Westminster, however desirable reform may be internally. Radical Robin should be raising his sights much higher.
What do you think? Drop me a line.
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