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The Parliamentary recess at Westminster is from 21 July until 5 September – that’s a long time and was partly, a long time ago, so that MPs and peers could rush off to their grouse moors for some ‘sport’.
This period, no doubt, won’t be one long holiday for MPs, just as it isn’t for school teachers, but it occurs to me that if the Westminster 650 are some of the most experienced and canny in the land then there must be something useful that they could be doing in preparing the country for Brexit negotiations. This will mostly not be a matter for parliament at this time, but why are not select committees organising hearings into the implications of Brexit for different aspects of out life? And what are we waiting for?
Although the Article 50 button has not been pressed, it would be very difficult to ignore the sound of ticking, ticking, ticking, as time passes.
At the very least I would like to see 100 MPs with expertise, including former ministers, rolling their sleeves up and getting some real work done. I agree that we, the voters, share a large share of the responsibility of getting ourselves into this mess – but it is still a mess (or an opportunity if you like – but there is no point sitting on your backside when opportunity beckons either!) out of which we need to get.
The politicians have been dealing with their own party politics for the last couple of weeks – and fair enough – but now there is real work to be done. It will be a very sad judgement on a generation of leading politicians if we arrive at this momentous position in our country’s history and realise they have very little to offer in terms of making sense of the details of Brexit and getting the best deal for the UK.
I think Caroline Spelman would be a strong contender for playing a part on Brexit negotiations and our environmental future over coming months – and why not start now? Surely Ed Miliband, as a former Climate Change Secretary of State, has a wealth of knowledge of the issues and of the EU personalities that would be used. James Paice and Richard Benyon understand farming and land management – they are farmers and land managers as well as being former ministers. What role could they play? Margaret Beckett is a negotiator of standing – she could be brought back to advise if nothing else. How about Hilary Benn – voted by readers of this blog as the best recent Defra Secretary of State? And, of course, Caroline Lucas does actually know a lot about these issues, not least through having been an MEP before being an exceptional MP.
As you look across 650 MPs one finds very little expertise in negotiating the UK out of the EU because we haven’t done it before – but also, sadly, rather little experience of anything much except being a political animal. Watch for the details of the new Defra ministers and look for any expertise in their lives that will fit them to a leading role in assuring the environment is protected post-Brexit (for, Brexit means Brexit).
And remember, think tanks such as the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and the Commission on Sustainable Development were knifed in the first weeks of the coalition government. The civil service has been slashed as have statutory agencies which are now headed by people who know very little of the details of how environmental protection actually works and have spent more time protecting their budgets than the environment.
This government has removed expertise from the statutory sector by ignoring evidence and the views of experts, and by denigrating expertise. It would be quite handy to have some deep understanding right now, and it looks pretty thin on the ground.
Those who argued most strongly for Brexit, Johnson, Gove and Farage, and let’s not forget Leadsom, have not a single clue what happens next. I’d be much happier seeing Stanley Johnson, author of EU legislation and another ex MEP of course, having a role in the future policy thinking than his boy Boris.
If Theresa May does not find a way of signalling that this is the time for politicians to turn their hands to any work that needs to be done to progress this issue over the summer then she will have had her first Prime Ministerial failure. There is real work to be done – let’s see how the political class rise to the task.
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At least they’ll have time to study all the clever references in Hitler’s Grouse Moor – an entertaining little video which is very well worth watching and will undoubtedly cheer you up. I challenge you not to LOL when you watch it…..
Go to http://captiongenerator.com/91045/Hitlers-Grouse-Moor or just put Hitler’s Grouse Moor into any search engine.
Nick B
There is real work to be done – let’s see how the political class rise to the task.
Therein lies the problem, that is to say the first part of your sentence. Collectively they got us into this mess along with their media mates, so we might be forgiven for drawing an analogy with Nero?
Bit radical but given this absolute and utter mess, isn’t it evidence of a need for Parliamentary overhaul across the piece?
Instead of the next tranche of Lords, as DC departs, can we have a serious reduction in the Westminster village please?
One reason why even some Euro-sceptics voted Remain was to avoid the appalling prospect of teasing apart 40 years’ worth of trade deals and shared legislation. The task is a monumental one. It may even be impossible given the lack of expertise in Whitehall and the two year time limit. And then in addition, there’s the small matter of day to day government. But who cares about that.
Westminster is bemused, scared and without a plan. It seems quite natural to run way and have as long a holiday as possible, forget about everything, lie back on that clean EU-protected beach and fantasise about the ‘drawbridge-take back control’ solution. And, at the same time, thank the gods for the last global warming event, ten millennia ago, that raised sea levels and cut us off from the rest of Europe.
Hang on, what about Ireland and that impending land frontier between the UK and the EU?
That’s the trouble daydreams. You can never quite banish reality.
And just now what looks like an even worse reality check from Philip Hammond:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/12/brexit-could-take-up-to-six-years-to-complete-says-philip-hammond
You and President Nazarbayeva of Kazakhstan both: the latter said “I suggest you could consider shortening your summer holidays. The challenges of the 21st century are very demanding on all governmental institutions,” in a speech addressing the fourth session of the fifth parliament of Kazakhstan in Astana….
Seriously, a good suggestion and one of yours which makes me think ‘why is no-one else saying that?’ Perhaps they are, but I missed it.
Perhaps when DC packs the Lords with more of his pals by virtue of outgoing PM patronage there might be more hands to make light the work?
If you are minded to believe the Parliament.UK website then there are only 798, so plenty of room for more in the palace of Westminster?
Yesterday I had expected to attend a day-long consultation workshop run by Defra on their “25 Year Plan”. At the last minute it was changed to a half-day workshop on the grounds that the post-Brexit decision had changed things. So, either it’s now going to be just a 12 1/2 Year Plan, or somebody somewhere in government was definitely using the afternoon to put their mind to matters equally as important as planning how not to destroy what’s left of our environment.
Worryingly, the 25 Year Plan for the Environment (and the fourteen associated ‘Local Plans’) do look like this could be yet another government initiative by Defra and family (a bit like Local Nature Partnerships) to put responsibility for action into the hands of local movers and shakers and then expecting them to get on with it without any financial support whatsoever coming from central government to ensure the process can actually function. So, with less for them to do, why shouldn’t MPs have longer holidays?
Happy they have more holidays provided their pay is cut proportionally, after all we need to get best value remember (or is that just outside the Westminster bubble)?
Endorse them asking Mark but do we really want too much contribution from the RSPB, who after all supported the HH [In]Action Plan, yes, recall all the ‘explanatory’ politics ;( There are other well qualified by experience contenders, but maybe not all defra et. al. friendly so would they be deemed eligible by whoever becomes new SoS?
Have you had any calls from civil servants, politicians, or even ministers asking for your advice Mark?
Maybe Martin Harper has?
Together you two probably have more knowledge, understanding and, importantly, experience of the issues involved in environmental politics and negotiation than the remaining Defra civil servants, politicians, and ministers.
I’d give the Scottish MPs a 365 day a year holiday if it were up to me. I’d cut our MSPs holidays though.
They are the lazist nerdowells .the country is leaving the eu thank god .bu they just at our expence were ever they want.somthing needs to be done.try looking after our country.we should stop them doing this.the expenves never gets talked about.any on with money can get knighthoods.try and get sothing done.today its bbc throwing money loke confettee sports pundits get mullti millions for talk ing a load of rubbish.gary liniker 6 million.disgusting.frederick stanley.72 pensioner.