Restoring the House

As the depressingly familiar routine of parliamentary logjam plays out yet again, it is worth examining if the rising crescendo of criticism is nearing a tipping point that will finally tilt the balance in favour of a correction. But the reality is that there will be no correction until the root causes, and not just the superficial symptoms, are addressed. Both the criticisms and the proposed solutions so far treat parliamentary disruptions as the disease, whereas they are merely the symptoms. Notwithstanding a few younger MPs seemingly defying their leaderships with a “no work, no pay” proposal — which incidentally I support, but only as a symbolic gesture — there has not been a serious debate on the root causes.

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