Cameron sets out Carswell & Hannan Mantra

"If we want Parliament to be a real engine of accountability, we need to show its not just a creature of the executive" - This is what David Cameron states in his article in the Guardian today, and amen to that.

The crisis in our Westminster politics at the moment has lead to a real will for change, to make Parliament be more accountable to the the people - this can only be done by increasing the power of the legislature over the executive. David Cameron set out many measures today similar to that, that Douglas Carswell & Daniel Hannan have said for a while now, that power should be redistributed:

From the state to subjects; from the government to parliament; from whitehall to communities. From the EU to Britain; from judges to the people; from bureaucracy to democracy.

• Conservatives believe in a small state - they believe in pushing power downwards - they believe in localism and Cameron has grasped this oppurtunity. So what does this all mean in real terms what would he do if he was Prime Minister, well he has set out some clear proposals for change. These include:
  
• Limited the power of the PM, by giving serious consideration to fixed term Parliaments


• Proposing to give MP's free votes at the committee stage of bills



• Boosting the power of backbench MP's by giving them the power to choose the chairs and members of commons select committees.



• Curb the power of the executive by limiting the use of Royal Perogative that is accustomed to the role of Prime Minister



• Publish the expenses claims of all public servants earning more than 150k.



• Stengthen Local Government by allowing Councils to overturn whitehall decisions - such as to close postoffices or local services, by giving them the power to raise money to keep them open.



• Advocating the use of open primaries when selecting party candidates for a general election.

These bullet points are by no means going to solve everything that is currently wrong with our democracy, but they are a start and if Cameron continues down this pathway - then that will only be for the benefit of us all.