Wycombe Liberal Democrats

I read with great interest Paul Goodman’s explanation of why he decided to stand down at the next General Election. The news is all the more surprising since he would have expected to be the bookmakers’ favourite to retain Wycombe at the next election.

Let me say from the off that I have no desire to pick though the minutiae of Paul’s expense claims. It is quite clear that there is nothing to be gained arguing about whether individual items were fair claims or not (and let’s face it, far worse were claimed by other MPs). But I do disagree with Paul’s claim that the Member for Wycombe needs a second home at all. Far better that Wycombe’s next MP should buy a season ticket and commute into London as most of his or her constituents do. The rail link from High Wycombe to London is excellent – and having your main home in the Constituency well help you to have more in common with those who you seek to represent.

Paul says that the House of Commons is sick, and in some ways I agree with him. It is right that our representatives should be able to draw on real life experiences. These may have been gained in business or in the workplace. But equally valid must surely be the experiences of others in our community. Would he discount, for example, the experience of parenthood, redundancy or those discriminated against because of disability? Paul rails against career politicians – but I don’t want a Parliament stuffed full of businessmen either. I want a Parliament representative of Britain today – and that means a mixed bag of people from all walks of life, with all kinds of life experiences.

That said, I don’t think that you can do justice to the role of MP unless you devote yourself to it full time. This brings us to the inevitable conclusion that you must pay MPs a realistic salary, and yes, we must pay them reasonable expenses. Not for moat cleaning and duck islands, mind you. Reasonable expenses like travel costs and living expenses for those MPs whose constituencies are far away from Westminster.

To find out how we got into this mess, you have to look way back to the days of the Thatcher administration. An independent review of MP’s pay at the time revealed that our representatives were actually underpaid. Afraid to face the public with this, a fudge was settled upon whereby MPs would continue to be underpaid, but instead be able to claim generous expenses. The expense scheme that MPs have been using would never have been tolerated in the private sector. Some MPs have taken advantage of the woolliness of the system and have been caught out.

There is an enigma in what Paul wrote in the Bucks Free Press when announcing his decision to stand down. He says that he admires and respects his leader, David Cameron. Yet he also says he expects Parliament to get worse, not better. Since most commentators expect Labour to lose the next election, does Paul not expect his party to make things better?

Paul alludes to the fact that the likely next MP from Wycombe will be his successor selected by his party. Let’s just think about this for a moment. The next MP for Wycombe will not be chosen by you! I Paul is right, he or she will be chosen by a small number of local Conservatives, since whoever they select is in pole position in what is considered a safe Conservative seat. The majority of Britain’s Parliamentary seats rarely change hands. The first past the post system we cling too, rejected as unfair by most of our neighbours, produces rotten boroughs. It is no coincidence that some of the most profligate MPs hit by the recent scandals also live in some of the safest seats. In many cases, they must have thought they had a job for life. Our present voting system does not make MPs equally accountable to the electorate, rather, those MPs in swing seats are the only ones with anything to fear.

The cure for the sickness is actually remarkably simple:
1. Fair pay for MPs with only genuine expenses claimable (as in the private sector).
2. Complete transparency as to how much each MP claims and for what.
3. Reform of the electoral system to ensure every MP is accountable to his or her constituents. No safe seats will keep them all on their toes!

To be elected to serve in any public role is an enormous privilege. Let’s make our democracy better and more accountable, so that our representatives can get on with sorting out the mess that our great nation has got into!

Oh, and if the next Tory candidate in Wycombe thinks he or she is in or an easy ride – they will be mistaken! The Labour Party may have pressed the self-destruct button, but the Liberal Democrats are fit and ready for the coming campaign.

Cllr Steve Guy is the official Liberal Democrat candidate for Wycombe at the next General Election.