Head of MP watchdog is quangocrat - shock

Today's Telegraph reveals that Sir Ian Kennedy, head honcho of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, is a pal of Labour's ex-spin doctor, Alistair Campbell.

And you're surprised because of .... ?

Apparently, he's sat on a number of public bodies - and will now sit in judgement of your elected representatives.  No kidding.  What were you expecting?

If you make MPs inwardly answerable to Westminster quangocrats, rather than outwardly accountable to the people, this is what you get.

There was once an independent authority to whom our MPs had to answer.  It was known as "the electorate".  We need to make MPs more vulnerable to what it thinks, rather than what mates of SW1 spin-meisters want us to think.

Posted on 7 November 2009 by Douglas Carswell

Comments

Still at least when the "independent" Mr Kennedy rejects all the worthwhile parts of the Kelly reports I'm sure that the MP's will be lining up to complain about how they'd have loved to have accepted everything but unfortunately are unable to.

Posted on 7 November 2009 17:45 by Giolla

Easy directly elect the executive and legislature separately.

Posted on 7 November 2009 19:01 by libertarian

The problem is making MPs continually answerable to the electorate.

The only way I can see this being done in a cost effective way is to elect representatives. Open primaries, right of recall being put in place. That deals with the behaviour of MPs.

The real issue is how to make them answerable for policy. That needs referenda for everything. It needs to be cheap. The best way is referenda by proxy where you nominate a proxy. Either because trust them or because they agree to vote the way you nominate them. ie. They can vote both ways. They just run a website and allow you to nominate yes or no for a given act. Parties could run it if they wanted too.

However politicians are now controlled. If they start screwing the electorate, they proxy count falls.

If Amazon can run a system for this its not difficult.

Nick

Posted on 8 November 2009 03:03 by Nick

Kennedy should be cut adrift right now. It has all the hallmarks of a disastrous appointment.
Perhaps his domestic troubles reported today might give him a reasonable excuse to withdraw?

Anyone who holidays with Campbell is bad news we/methinks

Posted on 9 November 2009 00:37 by THE ESSEX BOYS

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