The Ghost Parliament

WRITING in The Times recently, one Iain Martin told of the “spooky experience” of visiting the present day UK Parliament, which he reported was described by one Tory MP as “a ghost parliament”. Why? Simple. To all intent and purposes it has ceased to function. No public throngs Central Lobby, wishing to see their MP. Few MPs roam the corridors. The new “norm” has castrated the Commons.

Mr Martin also reported that many MPs are quite happy with the “working from home”, more relaxed lifestyle. Instead of harassing the Minister, face to face, in the Chamber, with supplementary questions and interventions, MPs appear on Commons TV screens for a timerestricted question. Ministers must love it. MPs are literally “zooming” themselves into irrelevance.

Recently, two days were set aside for this year’s Finance Bill. Only one day was used. Another debate on Northern Ireland should have gone on into the evening. By 2.30pm the Minister was winding up the so-called debate.

In my time, days were devoted to the Finance Bill. Committees sat for weeks debating Bills line by line. That was proper scrutiny. MPs were not allowed to read their questions or their speeches. Nowadays, even pre-pandemic, they do both. To my mind, if you can’t say what you think without reading it, word for word, you shouldn’t be there. The Government have laid 457 pandemicrelated, statutory instruments (government by decree) before Parliament, without proper scrutiny. Government will not give up such power easily. Then we wouldn’t have a UK “ghost parliament”. It would be dead.