Three weeks ago, I wrote to my MP to ask
for his commitment
to democracy.
As yet, he has not replied. There could be
no end of reasons for this in these unusual, Covid times. I need to stay calm
and remember that stuff happens. That when things go wrong, it is far more
likely to be a cockup rather than a conspiracy.
So, rather than go off down some rabbit
hole of conspiracy invention, I will simply take a deep breath, a swig of
strong coffee and try again.
Now, it would not be appropriate to simply
re-send the last letter. Although it is only 3 weeks since it was sent, events
have moved on.
Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for
Housing, Communities and Local Government, has been in the headlines again
after his illegal
intervention support of a Tory donor, he now has conspired with his junior
minister to do a spot of gerrymandering to
ensure that funds are routed to his and the junior minister’s constituencies.
Oliver Dowden, Culture Secretary, has floated
an idea that would further undermine public services broadcasting in this
country by
privatising Channel 4.
The UK has had its credit rating downgraded
by Moody’s. Not a totally unexpected event given the Covid situation &
Brexit. However, one factor in the downgrade was the
erosion of democratic institutions.
There may be other events I should have
noticed and worthy of inclusion. Sadly, the general standard of this government
has highlighted so many examples of incompetence, corruption and general
disregard for the health and wellbeing of this nation and its democracy it is
like trying to follow an individual starling in a murmuration.
Therefore, I took my original letter and revamped
it before sharing it with my MP. As always, I will keep you updated with any
progress.
The letter is below for your delectation
and delight.
Dear Mr Pursglove,
I wrote to you on the 28th September to
highlight my concerns over the direction of travel of this government with
regard to maintaining the safety of the British Democracy and its institutions.
Having not yet had any response, I am writing again as I fear that the original
may have been misplaced.
Since that original letter, other events
have occurred that serve to increase my disquiet over just how safe democracy
in this country in the hands of the current government. The questions have
therefore been updated to take these events into account.
Do you as an MP commit to the continuing
democracy of the United Kingdom? By this, I mean more than ensuring that the
people are able to vote. This includes ensuring the supporting institutions and
democratic principles are robust; adequately funded and ensuring adequate
scrutiny is applied to Government actions?
Do you also commit to ensuring the
government is subject to full scrutiny to ensure that it follows the rule of
law?
As you hold a Politics degree, I am sure
you will be disturbed that one of your constituents would ever feel the need to
ask their MP to commit to British democracy. As you are a passionate campaigner
to regain sovereignty from the EU, I am sure that you would be aghast if having
regained our sovereignty, it became tainted by corruption, unelected advisors,
contempt for the rule of law and an erosion of our British freedoms.
To assist, below is a summary of why I feel
current government actions threaten the future of our precious and fragile
democracy and some supplemental questions.
1. The
Civil Service is supposed to be provide independent & impartial advice and
support in the implementation of government policy. Since this government has
come to power, they have systematically replaced senior Civil Servants with
their own, seemingly political appointments. Do you believe this supports good
governance and ensures adequate scrutiny is applied to the details of
government actions?
2. The
government has signalled it is intent to limit access to Judicial Review of
government. Do you believe this supports good governance and ensures adequate
scrutiny is applied to the details of government actions?
3. The
judicial system has been subject to a series of cuts and budget constraints
over the last decade that has resulted in ever growing backlog of cases. This
backlog has only been made worse by the current Covid crisis. Do you commit to
ensuring that the funding of our legal system to address the backlog and ensure
that our justice system is functioning effectively?
4. The
Russian Report was published by the ISC on 21/07/2020. This showed some
unsettling interventions in the UK political system. Subsequent revelations in
the US has shown that these interventions have been widespread and deliberately
designed to subvert the democratic process. Do you commit to pushing the
government to holding an independent enquiry into the impacts of the foreign
interventions into the UK democratic process and putting forward
recommendations to prevent this in future?
5. Government
ministers appear to be avoiding scrutiny and taking actions that appear to be
corrupting the democratic process. An example being the allocation of the Town
Fund which appears to have been done in a way that ignores the advice of
officials and benefits Conservative targeted marginal seats. It also appears
that Robert Jenrick has manipulated process to ensure funding for his and a
junior minister’s constituency in what some may describe as gerrymandering. Do
you commit to ensuring that the decision is reviewed and that funds are
allocated according to need rather than political gain?
6. The
government appears to be denuding the Public Service Broadcasting, BBC and the
free press in the country of funding while placing political friends in
positions of authority that can influence the impartiality and freedom of the
press. Do you commit to ensuring that the BBC is adequately funded and
maintains full editorial independence? Do you also commit to ensuring that
adequate scrutiny is put upon the plan to privatise Channel 4 so that the
public service aspect of its output & editorial independence is maintained?
7. Michael
Gove has signalled a willingness to amend the UK Human Rights Act ‘to make it
easier’ for the government to enact ministers’ executive orders. Do you commit
to protecting the UK Human Rights Act, that you will ensure that no changes
will be made to the act without full and proper consultation and that when any
actions come to be voted upon, they will be a matter of the MP conscience
rather than a three-line whip?
May I also draw your attention to the
recent downgrade of the UK Credit rating to AAA3 by Moody’s. In what is a
highly unusual step, one factor in the downgrade is the erosion of democratic
institutions with the Internal Market Bill cited as an example.
I should remind you of why your government
finds itself having to breach international law and are struggling to find
convincing arguments to justify this shameful action. You supported the
Withdrawal Agreement. You voted to reduce the time to scrutinise the agreement,
even though at the time concerns were raised over the impacts on the NI peace
accord. You then fought and won an election based on the flawed Withdrawal
Agreement. That may not have been an issue, but you then voted on an
Agriculture Bill that removed food & animal welfare standard provisions
sparking the fear that food produced to the woeful US standards would find its
way into the EU via Northern Ireland.
The mess of the Internal Markets Bill is of
your own making and by showing such disregard to International Law, has
destroyed any moral authority the UK may have had when dealing with China on
Hong Kong. It now has an adverse impact on the cost of government borrowing.
I look forward to your response on the many
questions raised in this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Simon Holder
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