| Tobias
urges other MPs to hold public meetings and discuss the expenses scandal
There was certainly
a feeling of apprehension, walking into my first public constituency
extended surgery meeting on expenses. There were so many other subjects
I'd have preferred to be speaking about - subjects which more directly
affect constituents such as combating the recession or our relationship
with Europe.
But such is
the scale of this scandal, the collective loss of respect for Parliament
and anger at all MPs the public have little time to discuss wider
issues until MPs explain themselves.
With the scandal
unfolding mostly in the media; the Telegraph on one side exposing
allegation after allegation only for the MP on the other to invariably
respond with 'well it was within the rules', the one stakeholder
yet to have their say is the constituent.
Of course, in
today's hi-tech, non-stop world of emails, websites and tweets,
MPs can easily claim that constituents have unprecedented access
to information about their finances and need only go online to see
for themselves the new air of transparency that has suddenly swept
across Westminster. I do not think this goes far enough. The call
for all MPs to face the scrutiny of local constituents via a public
meeting (whether obliged through a general election or otherwise)
exposes the limitations of these modern methods of communication.
At my meetings
I was able to explain how the expenses system was supposed to work,
where it went wrong, and the raft of initiatives put forward by
David Cameron to ensure not just that those who have broken the
rules are appropriately disciplined, but also how the machinery
of Parliament should be modernised.
Most importantly,
the public meetings gave constituents the chance to scrutinise my
own expenses and openly express their views on recent events and
offer suggestions as to how they thought the system should be reformed.
With the opportunity to ask unlimited questions they could genuinely
assess my own circumstances and register whether I was sincere with
my answers. Such interaction is simply not possible online.
The Telegraph
has done the nation a favour, exposing not just a few bad apples
in Parliament but entire orchards. It has also prompted a debate
on the modernisation of Parliament not seen since 1832 Reform Act.
Modernisation
is just one stepping stone towards regaining the trust of the nation.
Another is MPs facing the music locally through public meetings.
I urge all MPs, if they have not already done so, to get away from
their computers and show some humility in front of their constituents.
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