Thread by @GeorgePeretzQC

David has identified the problem. The point, however, is to deal with it.

https://twitter.com/law_and_policy/status/1376551001252069380

What could we do to improve things? Some parts of our system work well. @CommonsPAC - backed by the National Audit Office - is feared by Ministers and Whitehall. “What would the PAC say about that?” is still a useful and salutary question.

Strengthening Select Committees; giving them more resources and staff; making chairing one a real goal of an ambitious MP wanting to change things and make their mark (better than being a minister) - all important. And to some extent happening.

David points to party loyalty as a problem: “don’t ask hard questions; support our legislation with speeches that wouldn’t look out of place in the 🇨🇳 National People’s Congress” - all are powerful messages to ambitious government MPs.

But the “alternative career path” (select committees) weakens that. And note that MPs’ party loyalty is much less than it was (voting against your party was hardly known in the 40s and 50s).

So don’t despair of Parliamentary accountability: but do strengthen it. My wish list: (1) PR (which would more or less end single party majority government: forcing all ministers to sell their decisions either to other parties in govt or to some MPs with no party loyalty to them)

(2) a constitutional block on Parliament’s ability to pass Henry VIII clauses and broad “ministers can legislate here” provisions, forcing ministers to get all legislation, apart from genuinely technical stuff, properly scrutinised.

Another type of accountability matters, too. Ministers’ accountability to courts. What you don’t do: weaken judicial review, weaken disclosure/duty of candour, restrict ability of public interest bodies to challenge, rule issues out as beyond the scope of any judicial review.

Strengthen FOI laws: speed up challenges to refusal decisions and strictly enforce the time limits that are already there but routinely ignored without real sanction.

There are lots of other ideas around: but the above would be a start.