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Clarke calls for Commons reforms E-petitions 'should prompt votes'
(1 day later)
Former chancellor Ken Clarke is expected to call for ministers to exert less control over the Commons in a report for the Conservative Party. Online petitions could be used to decide the subject of debates and votes in Parliament under a Tory government.
Mr Clarke, heading up the Tories' democracy taskforce, is also likely to suggest giving select committees more powers to scrutinise the government. Tory leader David Cameron said this would show the public "what their elected representatives actually think about the issues that matter to them".
He is expected to recommend more Commons time for bills from individual MPs - rather than from ministers. Earlier this year more than 1.7m people signed an anti-road pricing petition on the Downing Street website.
Mr Clarke has described the political system as "broken". But unlike the Tory democracy taskforce suggestion, the Number 10 petitions do not have any link to Commons debates.
'Sofa-style' Instead those who signed the petition received an e-mail from Tony Blair setting out the government's thinking on road pricing.
He is expected to call for a business committee to be set up to control the parliamentary timetable. Mr Cameron said: "I would like to see a system whereby, if enough people sign an online petition in favour of a particular motion, then a debate is held in Parliament, followed by a vote - so that the public know what their elected representatives actually think about the issues that matter to them."
Mr Clarke was appointed by Tory leader David Cameron in 2005 to look at the party's constitutional policies. TASKFORCE RECOMMENDATIONS Enhance power of select committees to call witnesses and papersImprove the publishing of select committee reports, with statements in the CommonsThe prime minister should appear before the Liaison Committee on a quarterly basisMore serious examination of policy, rather than 'slanging matches' between MPsMerge the Modernisation Committee with the Procedure CommitteeElect select committee chairmen by a secret ballot of the whole House, reducing the role of the whipsMake it easier for MPs to introduce and vote on non-party billsDebate issues of urgent public concern in ParliamentMPs, not Downing Street, should be in charge of rules about what gets debated and whenGovernment should have looser control over Parliament's agendaEnhance scrutiny of government finance, with prior justification required for spending decisions No deals to be made in Europe without prior explanation in the UK Parliament
In an interim report in March, he criticised what he called Tony Blair's "presidential" and "sofa-style" of government. A Tory spokeswoman said a precise figure for the numbers of signatures needed to trigger a debate in Parliament had yet to be decided.
Mr Clarke also said a new ministerial code was needed, clarifying the responsibilities of the prime minister and secretaries of state. But she said there would be safeguards to prevent trivial issues that did not warrant debate - such as petitions calling for football team promotion - taking up Parliamentary time.
He demanded a reduction in the number of special advisers and for parliamentary approval to be required before the UK goes to war. Petitions would be referred to Parliament's business committee, which would decide.
In a speech in 2005, he said: "A British 'presidency' has been created in Number 10. The democracy taskforce, headed by former chancellor Ken Clarke, also called for a "full-blooded entry into online activities" in a bid to spark public interest in Parliament.
"Too much power has been concentrated in the hands of the prime minister. Parliament already has a website, with live and archive coverage of the House of Commons and Lords and select committees available, MPs details, and records of hearings, debates and statements.
"We have seen a wholesale and deeply regrettable move from Cabinet government to autocratic government." The taskforce said it did not blame the print media for their political coverage "diminishing relentlessly" because it reflected the "lack of public interest in the type of politics offered by Parliament at present".
The report - the first of two on the future of democracy - will not necessarily become party policy, but is designed to provoke debate. It also calls for a "re-energising" of coverage of Parliament on TV and radio, saying that present broadcast rules were designed to avoid MPs being "travestied or distorted" and result in proceedings being relayed "somewhat stiffly".
Mr Cameron will give his reaction shortly after the document's publication. Another suggestion was for a new service which would offer what it called "Radio Three politics" where politicians might have longer, "a good ten minutes", to have their say, with plenty of time for questions.
On the procedural side, Mr Clarke said Parliament should be "more relevant and more powerful" in deciding what was debated in the Commons and when.
His report called for select committees to have "US-style" powers to order witnesses to appear.
He also recommended greater scrutiny of spending and European Union decisions, and more grilling of the PM by MPs.
Mr Cameron said it was time to give Parliament "real teeth".
"Parliament is supposed to be the watchdog of the constitution. It's become more of a poodle under Blair. We need to give it real teeth once again," he said.
Mr Clarke was appointed by Mr Cameron in 2005 to look at the party's constitutional policies.
'More powerful'
In an interim report in March, he criticised what he called Prime Minister Tony Blair's "presidential" and "sofa-style" of government.
Speaking just before the report was released on Wednesday, he said: "After Blair, after [Gordon] Brown, we need the House of Commons to be more powerful again."
His report called for a business committee to be set up to control the parliamentary timetable, taking control from Downing St.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Parliament should control what it debates, when it debates, and should be able actually to debate for a time it wants current events at the time when things can be influenced."
The second most important aspect, according to Mr Clarke, was to make select committees more powerful.
He said chairmen should not be appointed by whips, but by secret ballot of MPs.
"[They should] not be ex-ministers being given a consolation prize."
As well as ordering people to appear, they should be able to command debates in the Commons "when they think there's a serious crisis that needs to be discussed, straightaway".
The report will not necessarily become party policy - it is designed to provide options for Mr Cameron when he draws up his next election manifesto, and to provoke debate.