Ian Dunt brings the reader up to date with how dysfunctional our parliamentary system has become. This valuable read draws on views from across the political spectrum.
Helpful chapters justify the title of the book. They cover how MPs are selected, elected and what they do, the power of the prime minister, ministers and the treasury, the role of the press, the process of making and changing laws, and how the two houses of parliament operate. Separate chapters are devoted to two case studies: the privatisation of the probation service and the evacuation from Afghanistan. Both show how decisions made can cost human lives and enrich those seeking opportunities for profit.
Key revelations
There are so many revelations in this book, but for me the following three stand out.
1) “Ministers are acting like absolute monarchs. MPs are acting like serfs
– p.267
There are three ways that a minister can change and make law. The opening chapter shows how Chris Grayling was able to privatise the probation service with no need to consult parliament, due to a clause in the Offender Management Act passed by the Blair Government in 2007 which included the statement that “the Secretary of State may make contractual arrangements with any other person for the making of the probation provision” (p.15)
Statutory instruments, also referred to as “delegated legislation” were introduced for minor updates to the law. Both their use and scope are growing. In a recent example the Home Secretary was given power to define at any time what is meant by serious disruption, to deprive protesters of their freedom (p.272).
Parliament can also pass skeleton bills, granting a minister the power fill in the details as and when, even granting power to a third party to make changes (p.274-5).
2) “There is a deliberate policy of keeping MPs in the dark”
The power grab by ministers has been made possible by making it difficult for MPs, the press and the public to understand what is going on. Obfuscation is baked in.
For example, when a Bill proposes changes to existing acts, the bill includes the minimum detail of each change, such as “at paragraph x after the word y, insert z”. When considering changes to documents the rest of the world presents the complete text with the changes highlighted. Since publication the full text of changes have started to appear in Keeling schedules (p.69) the first being Data Protection and Digital Information Bill.
There is a similar issue in how amendments to bills are presented to MPs to vote on. Frustrated with not being able to easily understand the purpose of each amendment Caroline Lucas called for a change in the procedure that would require a simple explanatory statement in plain English for each amendment, the house rejected this proposal by 142-23 votes (p.70).
3) “The new generation (of Civil Servants) have been schooled to think that saying yes to ministers and their advisors is the only safe method of career progression.”
– Daniel Greenberg, parliamentary counsel, p.180
The governments led by Thatcher and Blair reshaped and repurposed the civil service. Long gone is the detailed questioning, reasoning and analysis of government policy by civil servants with experience and understanding of how things work. It seems that Ministers, with little knowledge of the department they have been put in charge of, increasingly prefer to appoint their own special advisors (spads), and external consultants to formulate, review and implement policy, bypassing the work of the Civil Service.
The table below shows the increase in the use of spads hired by government.
The author notes that during the financial crash of 2007-8, the treasury “lacked many people with the expertise or experience to handle it” (p.192)
Solutions
In the final chapter (p.329- 355) the author looks at what works and outlines solutions for the key failings. The House of Lords is listed as one of only two things that appear to work but that is no argument for keeping it (the other thing being select committees). The House of Lords is currently needed as the House of Commons has such an inadequate process for producing legislation based on incomplete drafts, an incomprehensible review and amendment process, and MPs pressed to vote on issues without fully understanding them. A process that an engineer would recognise as lacking Total Quality Management (TQM).
Dunt offers many suggestions for improvement. These include the use of primary elections for selecting candidates, an electoral system based on proportional representation (PR), better support and offices for MPs, retaining key expertise within the civil service, the use of electronic voting in parliament, support for local journalism, making Green Papers mandatory including review by citizens juries, having public bill committees work like select committees, and using an ombudsman to deal with the increasing tide of casework triggered by inadequate public services.
The author concedes that many of the changes would mean that “everything would take much longer” which as anyone involved in the introduction of TQM would recognise as the biggest obstacle when trying to convince any organisation of the value in taking the time and effort to improve quality to drive long term benefits.
Surprisingly having seen how much harm the last parliament did in just five years (mismanaging a pandemic, triggering a financial crash, ignoring the climate emergency, failing public services…) nothing is said about accountability, or the need for the people to take away the power that has been entrusted to those we elect.
Can Westminster be fixed?
The only organisation that can make the changes needed is the government, that has come to power by the system operating as it does..
– p.330
It should be clear to anyone who reads this book that Westminster is beyond repair, the author offers sticking plasters but the patient refuses them. Those elected by either of the main parties have no interest in change. PR was supported by the Labour membership and Trade Unions yet remained absent from its manifesto, and Michael Crick exposed how candidate selection for the Labour party in 2024 was corrupt.
A more radical approach would be a progressive migration of power to elected assemblies in the English Regions, and making public services accountable to a representative, regionally accountable legislative body. This is already in place for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which already have many of the improvements the author is looking for such as PR, electronic voting, better accommodation, and a level of quality management considered normal in other comparable institutions. A slimmed down Westminster could continue to look after national issues such as infrastructure, energy and food security, defence, trade and foreign policy. An overarching constitution based on justice and fairness would be needed to maintain the balance of power between Westminster and the regional assemblies/parliaments.
How Westminster works.. and why it doesn’t by Ian Dunt. Published by Weidenfeld and Nicholson 28 March 2024.
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