The final throes of a corrupt system

So now Parliament's own publication of MPs expenses has shown once and for all how tawdry and corrupt the system has become. Worse still, it demonstrates graphically the reason for the desperate attempts by a majority of MPs to prevent the public from ever finding out.

The redacted (in this case a euphemism for a process equivalent to an accused deciding the evidence to be presented by the prosecution) claims released yesterday would never have revealed "flipping" or that claims had been made for moats and ducks. MPs claims that redaction was necessary to ensure their security have been laid bare as the fraud they always were. Redaction was intended to prevent the public discovering the truth. And thanks to the Daily Telegraph we have. And not before time.

Let there be no doubt. Without the Daily Telegraph revelations the system would not have been changed.

Tinkering with the Constitution

Now, God help us, Brown tells us he wants to reform the Constitution.

He is apparently looking at the voting system, the Lords, and the balance between the elected members and the executive.

Our system with its unwritten constitution is certainly not perfect but it would be foolhardy to only tinker with aspects of it. The time is probably right for a root and branch review and surely the answer is a Royal Commission.

A system similar to the US, with a Bill of Rights and careful balancing of power between the executive, legislature and supreme court, may be the best solution. It, too, has its faults but it is better than the elected (or unelected in the case of Brown) dictatorship model that we have slipped in to.

The House of Commons has forfeited its long asserted right to primacy. It is too supine, lazy and corrupt - ruled by the Whips, dominated by a huge payroll vote and a mass of wannabe Ministers too scared to step out of line lest they be overlooked. The few really able back bench MPs - and there are some on all sides - struggle to get their voices heard and the select committees have never had the influence of their US counterparts. Power needs to be more equally divided between what is now the Commons and an elected upper chamber.

The greatest risk in embarking on reform is that the Government of the day will cherry pick elements of reform which look most advantageous to themselves, whereas the very essence of an effective constitution is that it comes as a complete package.

Above all, Brown is no Maddison so he must pass the task to someone fit for the role.

And still the excuses pour forth

After a fortnight out of the UK I return to find that the MPs expenses revelations are still dominating the political agenda.

What I cannot fathom is why MPs still do not understand what it is that they have done wrong. If they did they would act premptively to review past expenses and repay excessive or dubious claims before the Daily Telegraph outs them. But, no, they are sitting like rabbits in the headlights waiting for the inevitable.

Polls showing how little trust there is for politicians and the political system come as no surprise. MPs have for years lived in a parallel universe believing that they are playing an important role in British life whereas in fact they have allowed the whole process to become corrupted. The huge payroll vote, coupled with those members desperate to curry favour, means that Governments are virtually undefeatable. The Commons has allowed itself to lose all capability to act as a check on the executive.

As a result it is the Lords (now a body whose composition defies any coherent explanation) that provides the only serious debate on issues of significance and effective review of legislation.

Politicians have nobody to blame for this situation - it is entirely of their making.