The Coalition Government have made a good start in Parliamentary reform, which may seem a rather anoraky subject, but actually is all about accountability, openness, and increasing the influence of elected MPs against the dead hand of the Whips – all of which is essential in any real democratic system.   The Government has already now opened up the whole public expenditure database to detailed scrutiny, is now implementing the Wright committee recommendations for election of the chair and members of Select Committees by the whole House in place of a stitch-up between the Whips, and tomorrow is expected to lay a Standing Order which cedes partial control of the Parliamentary agenda to an elected Back-Bench Business Committee.

None of this of course would have happened without a long, bruising struggle at the end of the last Parliament to get the all-party Wright committee proposals fully taken on board, debated on the floor of the House, and overwhelmingly voted for.   Alongside this committee the pressure also came from Parliament First, a vigorous all-party back-bench committee then chaired by Mark Fisher and now by me, all of whose members are passionately committed to restoring  Parliament to its real role in effectively holding the Executive to account and making MPs much more into transparent instruments of the popular will.

The ballot for electing 22 Select Committee chairs will take place tomorrow.   Having served as an MP for nearly 40 years, including 11 years as a Minister and 25 years on the Front Bench, I am standing for chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) since this too has always been at the heart of Parliamentary democracy and in the current straitened financial climate has an even more important role today.  

Seeking to do more with less but without sacrificing the quality of outcomes, making efficiency gains where they are realistic and sustainable, and significantly improving project management and procurement across the board are going to be the order of the day.   I would want to work closely with Government in identifying areas where all these objectives can be advanced.

Edward Leigh was the highly successful preceding PAC chair, and he and his committee rightly focused on expensive IT  procurement sold as panaceas, lack of high-quality management skills, the need for regular accurate data to track the effectiveness of expenditure, and a more rigorous crackdown on fraud and waste.   I believe this valuable work should be followed through now with stronger emphasis on securing real accountability within the Whitehall machine and ensuring that Government both learns from its failures and sucesses and actually implements those lessons.

If these objectives are pursued relentlessly both in Parliament First and the PAC, this may be a defining moment in restoring parliamentary morale and regaining respect from a deeply disillusioned electorate.

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