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Report from the House of Commons Reform Committee on Rebuilding the House

I absolutely agree. That brings me back to my main point and my intervention on my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright). When we were elected to the Committee, why did we not start with the questions, "What do we think Parliament is for? And, therefore, what is the role of Members of Parliament?"? Those questions were not asked at any point during the Committee's deliberations. Many Members said, "We all know what Members of Parliament are for. They are there to hold the Executive to account and scrutinise legislation," but there are so many other things as well. The MPs' expenses scandal has brought the issue to a head. It has been going on for years, and we have just pottered about, but with the scandal we have the opportunity to do something about it and ask some fundamental questions. When the Scottish Parliament was set up, people started with a blank sheet of paper, with founding principles and with the four key themes on which they really wanted to base their parliamentary system. Why did we not start with something like that? What are the key principles on which we want to build our Parliament? We never discussed those questions, so whatever reforms were proposed, they would not have had clear aims. Therefore, the reforms before us may be good, or they may not be very good at all. Indeed, they may do some damage.