A quiet revolution?

'A lot quieter than 1789', I remarked to another Labour MP after we had voted through a whole batch of reforms to House of Commons procedures today. And while the changes were not as bloody or as far-reaching as those in Paris in 1789, the general feeling amongst MPs was one where we couldn't quite believe we had voted through, with big majorities, some of the most radical changes in the way the Commons operates for decades.

The two most significant in my view were, firstly, the decision that the chairs of select committees be elected by MPs in a secret ballot and not as at present nominated by a committee where the party managers, the whips and others, have a great deal of influence. What this means is that chairs will have to get support from across the parties in the commons to be elected. And that will mean that independence will be at a premium for the successful candidate.

The second significant change was the decision that backbenchers will be able to decide the way in which much of the time for business in the Commons will be allocated. That may not sound much, but in practice that could have profound consequences by making it impossible for any government to choose issues it wants to debate, and avoid those it doesn't.

By themselves, these changes will not transform the culture of Parliament - but I suspect they may trigger off a whole series of shifts in the way the system operates, bringing about (I hope) a fundamental shift in the balance of power between the Executive and those responsible for scrutinising and controlling it.

Now on to the election of the House of Lords, and a fair election system for both houses of Parliament!

It's a 2, 3, 4...horse race

I see that my local LibDem opponent for the UK General Election is still pushing out material claiming it's a "two horse race" in Edinburgh North & Leith. And this has stimulated my SNP opponent to put out his leaflet saying 'oh no it's not, it's a two-horse race between SNP and Labour'! The fact is that almost all the opposition parties to Labour could choose statistics to 'prove' they are second to Labour - it was between SNP and Labour in the last Council and European elections, between Labour and LibDem at other times - the latest Scottish opinion poll puts the Tories in second place - and in the 2004 European elections it was the Greens who were second in the constituency.

While personally speaking I'm happy if my local opponents want to dispute who is really in 2nd place (!), what this shows is `that the best course of action for anyone in Edinburgh North & Leith is to vote for what you believe in - and it also underlines in my view the case for electoral reform so that electors can vote for their first choice, without having to vote 'tactically' - one of the reasons I have backed proportional representation for more than 20 years.