Martin Salter's Westminster Diary, May 21, 2009

Martin Salter MP • Published 21 May 2009 09:00 0 Comments

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IT WAS my sad duty to say goodbye to a much loved figure in Tilehurst and West Berkshire this week.

On Monday I attended the funeral of former Westwood councillor Brian Dowding. Elected to the old Newbury District Council in 1973 as an Independent, he later joined the Liberal Democrats and became their group leader for a while.

He was an active member of Tilehurst Parish Council and was personally responsible for the creation of Calcot recreation ground which would be blighted forever if the dreadful Blue Living proposals were approved at Pincents Hill by West Berkshire Council.

Brian was a man of great humour, integrity and energy who put far more back into life than he ever took out. He went into politics for all the right reasons and will be sorely missed.

Despite the furore over the expense and allowance claims of around 10% of MPs of all parties in the House of Commons, I"m still of the opinion that the majority of my colleagues went into politics with good intentions.

However, it is clear Parliament has not only lost its way but also the trust of the people.

Simply forcing the early resignation of the Speaker will not by itself assuage the justifiable public anger over a failing system exploited by some unscrupulous individuals.

So here"s my seven point plan for cleaning up the House of Commons:

- SACK all Ministers and Shadow Ministers who have systematically enriched themselves at taxpayers" expense by playing the system and breaking the spirit of the rules, if not the letter.

- END MPs 'moonlighting'. No second jobs or company directorships. Full time commitment for a full time salary.

- STOP MPs profiting personally from any future second home allowance.

- PAY essential London accommodation allowances only. Cap claims. Nothing for third or fourth homes.

- DESELECT all MPs who have blatantly broken the rules or failed to put their affairs in order.

- REMOVE right of Parliament to set level of MPs" salaries and allowances, in favour of a genuinely independent body.

- PUBLISH all claims and receipts every three months on the Parliamentary website.

These are not all original ideas, and I tried myself to end the scandal of moonlighting MPs through my Private Member"s Bill in 2007. However, I do think these proposals would go some way to restoring trust and faith in our most important democratic institution. Please let me know what you think.

This blog appeared in Reading Chronicle 21 May 09

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