Thursday 1 December 2011

Recall of Elected Representatives

David Cameron has no genuine commitment to making parliament and MP's more accountable to the public.

In principle, recall should be available to all electorates on demand. At any time, a petition by a proportion of the electorate should trigger a new election - simples.

David Cameron has suggest a process that he has labelled 'recall', but gives the electorate no additional influence, control at all!

Cameron insists that an MP must:

  1. Commit a significant offence
  2. Be censured by parliament
  3. Be subject to a major petition from the electorate
  4. Parliament must agree that parliaments original censure was insufficient
  5. New election!

My response:

  1. Offence: Who decides what is 'significant' or not? How about betraying a manifest pledge? Yes/No?
  2. Censure: What if parliament decide no censure requried (maybe a minister already resigned)?
  3. Petition: Yes, I'll accept that
  4. When would parliament *EVER* admit it had not done enough and must defer to the people?!?
  5. Election: Yes, I'll accept that too.

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