Former Home Secretary Rt Hon David Blunkett MP has challenged the coalition government to respect Parliament after a series of pre-announcements made outside the House of Commons.
Mr Blunkett made a short speech after John Bercow was re-elected Speaker. Mr Bercow promised to continue to uphold the rights of backbench Members of Parliament to hold the Government to account.
In his speech, Mr Blunkett said: “We have debated at length the need for a new politics; for the House to be able to hold the Government to account more effectively.
“Despite this, it would appear that major constitutional announcements about the House, the voting system and the House of Lords; on spending cuts; and on how the House might rid itself of a Government that no longer had its confidence – all three appear to have been made prior to Parliament convening next week.
“We look to the Speaker to defend our interest as backbenchers. But we look forward most of all to him reasserting the ideas promoted before the election – that we should not be engaged in fixes, not have the old caballing; that we should have open, honest, forthright debate and that parliamentarians should genuinely be able to hold this new coalition to account.”
Commenting after his speech, Mr Blunkett said: “It is outrageous that major spending cuts, affecting many people across the country, will be announced outside the House of Commons next Monday – just 48 hours before George Osborne would have ample opportunity to do so in the days of debate following the Queen’s Speech.”
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