Iggy's Sting In The Tail: Parliament First!

Iggy to Harper: "Third, you should respect the will of Parliament and hand over the unredacted documents that you have been ordered to produce. We are all reasonable and responsible Parliamentarians. We are prepared to discuss how best to protect legitimate claims of national security. But this is a decision we should make together as Parliamentarians." Let's hope Iggy  is serious. If Lee is any indication, caucus certainly is.

In related news it is notable that "Respect for Parliamentitis" is breaking out all over, as The Hidden Battle for Parliament's Soul makes clear (subtitle: It was great last week to see MPs try to take back control of Westminster from the party machines). I was particularly struck by the excellent name of the movement, Parliament First, or more precisely "the all-party Parliament First group". While we are ahead of the Brits on this specific point, everywhere you look, you'll find parliamentarians, whatever the system, trying to push back against the executive, in presidential systems like France & USA as well. The conclusion to the article is eerily analogous:

"Harman represents the dying days of a cynical and incompetent regime but this issue is not really about party politics: it's about the power of our representatives versus the power of the executive – a key issue for anyone who plans to vote at the next election in the expectation that their vote will count for something. To my mind, it is far more important for our parliamentary democracy than any commitment to proportional representation, and that is because there is now a real chance of returning power to the ­people we elect.

The House returns on 22 February when the government faces an alliance of the Wright Committee, Parliament First, all Lib Dems, all nationalist MPs, and a large number of Conservative and Labour members. On a straight vote, it looks as though the government would be defeated, but we can expect all sorts of shenanigans between the two dates. And of course Gordon Brown, encouraged by apparent weakening in the Tory support, may suddenly call the election, at which point this unique opportunity will be lost.

But the battle against Standing Order 14 must be won, whether in this parliament or the next, and it is something that every voter should care about."