A fresh start for democracy

As a local politician I am still constantly rebutting comments, admittedly often made as a joke, about expenses and loss of trust and so I welcomed this.

Will the spectacle of the state opening of Parliament do anything to restore the voters trust in the system? No, only those who firmly support monarchy will see it as a good thing. The ostentation of the state coach and Lords in their robes is part of our historic past. I used to think that it encouraged respect for those who made decisions on our behalf but the recent expenses scandal has completely undermined that.

The only way for the trust of the voter to be restored is for this parliament to ensure that new rules are in place in the short time before the next election is called. The new parliament from Wednesday will only have 70 days in which to transact business. This is far short of the average time it takes to get new legislation through the necessary stages.

By taking forward work already in progress it could be possible with cross party cooperation and concentration of minds, to put in train substantial political reform. Not only does there need to be reform of MPs expenses to the extent that they should not profit from taxpayers money but also reform of government, parliament and the voting system.

Only then can we restore faith in democracy and proceed to elect a new set of MPs.