Just been reading www.order-order.com which has a very interesting article about our former Prime Minister, according to research undertaken by Guido Fawkes since losing the election and standing down as Labour leader Mr. Brown has only attended parliament on two occasions, one to vote and the other to be sworn in - in other words to make sure he continues to get paid.
Now I would be the first to point out that the role of an MP extends far beyond parliament, to receive pay for 6 months, yet only attend twice is clearly going to cause comment, especially as the main task undertaken by the government in this time is to try and solve many of the problems caused by Gordon's government, surely as the man who filled the two top roles in this government should be lending his expertise.
To be honest it would seem to me that his decision is probably one of three scenarios:
1 Gordon Brown knows this entire mess is his fault and that by attending he will simply give too much fuel to his opponents.
2 Ed Miliband has stopped him from attending as he fears he will be overshadowed by his old boss and wants to distance himself from the old government which he is hoping people will forget he was part off.
3 This is just one more example of how Gordon Brown wants to stick his fingers up at the tax payer one last time.
Whatever the cause I would suggest that if the former prime minister is a man of principle as he claims that he should resign as soon as possible, or start to attend parliament and actually in some ways make amends for the 428% (of GDP) of External debt he has saddled us with.
Just a quick post on a few things I would like to happen to improve politics.
Manifesto:
I would like to see the manifesto lifted to the status of a service level agreement, and as such would like to see an annual review of progress against election promises. Basically on the anniversary of each election each politician from PM to Councillor will stand before the electorate and state which of their promises they have completed, what they are still working on and what now cannot be delivered - and why.
Borrowing:
To prevent a repeat of The current system I would like to introduce a limit on public sector borrowing, no government or local authority should borrow for anymore than a single elected term, this is to stop the features of inherited good economies, becoming train wreck economies when they are passed back.
MP Expenses:
Although it is last years hot topic, I want to see the expenses revisited, instead of restricting to rental properties only I feel that on election an MP should select an apartment - up to a set level - and this should be 100% tax payer funded, after their term ends the property will be either sold by the state (if prices have gone up) or held until the taxpayer can be ensured of a return on investment.
Recall elections:
A recall election to be called if petitioned by 25% of eligible voters at any time, or 10% with proven wrong doing.
Prison System:
Reform the prison System into a two tier system, punishment and rehabilitation. All prisoners to spend the first half of their sentence in punishment and the second half in rehabilitation - dependant on good behaviour. Both tiers to include paid employment to cover the costs of the system.
Smoking Ban:
I would lift the ban but only for licensed premises, these premises would be banned from selling any foods and must be new establishments (so no one can end up working in one if they do not want to) I would then leverage the costs of smoking related diseases directly against the cigarette companies.
House of Lords:
I am a strong believer in the existence of a non-elected body in government, (as the majority are not always right - Nazi Germany for example) however if you are to switch to a wholly elected parliament perhaps we could split the duties of an MP between the houses with the Lords taking a more community focused role, with the commons being more Westminster and business based, perhaps even electing on a joint ticket. - to be honest, not something I believe in but would welcome the debate.
Like I say, these are just my ideas and would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
