Time for a break, but big questions remain
The noisy outburst John Bercow directed at George Osborne in the House of Commons yesterday was an eloquent statement, but not in the way the increasingly absurd Speaker doubtless intended. The tirade symbolised the fatigue and frustration that grips a political class that has been engaged in full-time politicking for the whole year to date, and badly needs the summer break that finally began last night. The weeks since the general election have not shown Parliament at its best. Much of this is down to the dismal condition of the Labour Party, which shows no sign of understanding why it lost the election so badly, or what to do with another five years in opposition. The result has been a shambolic, directionless party, and debates that fall well short of Parliament’s primary purpose, to reflect and represent the full spectrum of public opinion.
The abject state of the Official Opposition does not mean that the Government has been unopposed in Parliament, however. In the House of Commons, the Scottish National Party has made its enlarged presence felt, and rarely in a positive fashion. The conduct of SNP members leaves much to be desired: they delight in flouting the traditions and courtesies of the House, an approach that is boorish and rude. Politically, they are more destructive still. By threatening to vote against reforms to the law on hunting foxes in England, the SNP broke a clear promise, and revealed its true intent at Westminster: to wreck and provoke. When the Government brings back its (wholly justified) plans for “English Votes for English Laws”, it must take care not to hand the SNP an unwarranted propaganda victory; this reform is about delivering fairness for England and in no way penalises the Scots.
In the House of Lords, the Government has been defeated no fewer than eight times since the election. The Lords is overstocked with Labour and Liberal Democrat peers, who appear not to care that the Conservatives have a popular mandate to implement their policies. Ministers will soon start to address this unfair imbalance by creating more Conservative peers, though this alone may not be enough to answer the questions posed by the power of the Upper House.
Meanwhile, some of the biggest questions facing our country have been postponed until after the summer – barring, of course, an unscheduled recall of Parliament. Will Britain extend its military action against Isil into Syria? A definitive answer will apparently have to wait until Labour has elected a new leader in September, a somewhat unsatisfactory state of affairs given the pace of events in the Middle East. Likewise, the real work of balancing the books and clearing the deficit will begin in earnest only in the autumn with Mr Osborne’s spending review. And how exactly will the referendum on EU membership be conducted? There are signs that David Cameron will seek to use the full Whitehall machinery to support the campaign to remain in, while binding ministers to the same cause. The Government’s explanations for both choices are not wholly convincing, and need greater scrutiny.
These are all questions for later, however. For now, as Mr Bercow’s outburst underlines, politicians should go away for the summer. After the Scottish referendum, then an overlong election campaign, they, like the country, are at risk of becoming exhausted by politics. Time to take a break.