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Parliamentary Reform

All that activity for the Division probably reinforces the argument that the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion was making earlier. I was coming to a conclusion and waiting with great excitement for an intervention by the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant); I hope he will come back to make it before too long. I was about to praise one aspect of the devolved Parliaments. I suspect that I came across as a little unconvinced by the vibrancy of their proceedings, but if there is something with which to credit the Welsh Assembly in particular, it is the fact that increased accessibility for members of the Welsh public—constituents who are served by both an Assembly Member and a Westminster Member—has led to increased confidence, which we might reflect on. Many of their procedural matters may mirror what we do, but the feeling that someone can get to a Minister more quickly and discuss their problems at greater length has led people to believe, often reluctantly—they would have taken a very different view a few years ago—that it is a good thing and a lesson that we could work on here. The word ““balance”” has been mentioned by many Members this afternoon. It is not just the balance of our work and family life, although that is absolutely vital. I am one of the Members who will leave here at 7 or 8 o'clock tonight and will be lucky to get back to west Wales before midnight, and I shall probably not see my children until tomorrow afternoon. This is not a sob story, because I knew that was the lifestyle I was entering when I came here—my eyes were wide open; but I accept that we can improve some areas. Although it may just be a rumour, it is a pretty depressing statistic that 40% of the married Members of Parliament who entered the House in 2005 have separated from their partners. That is 10% higher than the national average, so we need to reflect on that as we develop—slowly and sensibly, I hope—the proposals that have been made this afternoon. I came to the debate expecting not to be convinced, but I have been semi-convinced by some of the arguments made by the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion. She makes some sensible proposals that do not compromise systems that have been honed over generations and that serve the nation well. Nor do they compromise some of important theatre, drama, energy and passion of this place, which I have not seen reflected at the same level in our devolved Parliaments. One or two frivolous suggestions have been made, and although we should take them seriously, I do not think we should advance them with any great enthusiasm. In conclusion, let us not lose sight of the fact that the relevance of what we do—its relevance to 21st century Britain, our constituents and all corners of the earth—is of far greater significance than the means by which we so often do it in this building.