Have MPs struck the right note?
The Empire struck back in the Commons yesterday - but will MPs come to regret it?
They passed a motion demanding that their , should streamline its procedures and cut its costs - and do so in time for the start of the next financial year, in April. That requires IPSA to put down Statutory Instruments to amend its rules - and to do so pretty rapidly. The kicker is that the motion instructs the Leader of the House to provide debating time for a bill to do the job, if IPSA fails to comply.
It's all quite a triumph for the Conservative backbencher Adam Afriyie, whose tenacious lobbying and tactical skill have emboldened MPs to intervene in this most toxic of areas. Maybe IPSA will change the rules of its own accord, but maybe they won't... and if they don't, those who supported Mr Afriyie yesterday will face a further test of courage. The press coverage of the latest returns of expenses published by IPSA may not have turned up any publicly funded moat-clearing, but has still managed to be pretty bruising.
And yesterday's debate was not, at times, a pretty sight. Many MPs nurse deep frustrations and genuine grievances against the operation of the expenses system, but I doubt hard pressed taxpayers will have been much impressed by the parade of senior figures who managed to sound self-pitying and self-interested. Mr Afriyie gave a masterclass in striking the right note, but if some future news bulletin features a similar performance, as MPs are seen re-writing their expenses rules, the damage to Parliament's already diminished status could be significant.
And they must beware of the point raised by Labour's John Mann, who has upset colleagues with his warnings about the excesses of the old system. If MPs are seen to take back control of their expenses system they may find they are simply opening a whole new can of worms.
I'm Mark D'Arcy and I'll be writing about what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms at Westminster.
Comments
or to comment.