Tag Archives: malcolm jack

Fixed-term Parliaments: better by standing orders?

Last week Malcolm Jack, the Clerk of the House of Commons, got a little flurry of media coverage for his evidence before a Parliamentary committee considering the proposed legislation for fixed-term Parliaments. “Parts of the government’s plans to bring in fixed-term parliaments are vulnerable to legal challenge” was how the BBC reported it.

It is understandable why that got the headlines, but lurking in the detail are important questions about how Parliament operates and whether its administration is competent. Jack’s evidence, and concerns about the legislation, really fall into three parts.

First, as might be expected from an official whose …

Posted in Op-eds and Parliament | Also tagged , , and | 11 Comments
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  • Nigel Quinton
    @Paul why do you say this will be a return to two party politics? Even if Reform diminish, surely Labour and Tory are now shadows of their former selves? LibDem...
  • Chris Cory
    @Jana. It would seem that all you require of a democracy is a vote every 5 years and that any result it throws up is fine and shows our democracy is in good ...
  • Jana
    @Chris Cory “ we have a crisis of democracy which is manifesting itself in increasing support for extremists on the left and right” No, it is not a cris...
  • Matt (Bristol)
    I wasn't sure whether I agreed with Matthew, but I damn well agree with Chris Cory....
  • FS People
    So it does sound like the view across the board is defence of the status quo....