Letters | 30 May 2009

Time to talk it out

Sir: The EU is certainly one important cause of parliament’s loss of self-respect, but you fail to mention (Leading article, 23 May) what is now the main cause of the malaise: in 1997 the Blair government introduced the routine timetabling of primary legislation, and did so with the connivance of a then supine official Conservative opposition. Several people, including myself — I was clerk of the bills between 1995 and 1999 — warned the shadow Cabinet that this spelt the end of effective parliamentary government, but we were ignored.

Although much loved by academics, timetabling (along with the ‘carry-over’ of public bills) emasculated the Commons, removing its residual but effective power to prevent unpopular legislation from even reaching the Lords, let alone the statute book. It is little surprise that MPs have lost faith in their own calling.

Any genuinely reforming government would repeal these measures, restoring to the House its ultimate sanction of talking bad legislation out.