Open and efficient: learning from other legislatures — Anna McMorrin MP

Compared to other legislature in the United Kingdom, Westminster feels old-fashioned and like an exclusive club. Technology, simplified procedures and far fewer ‘member-only’ spaces will make the Commons more open and efficient.

To look at Westminster from a distance it appears to be an anachronism in today’s modern world. An island set apart from the country it seeks to govern. A place with rules and a culture of its own and more in common with an old boy’s public school or gentleman’s club than what it should be — an open and outward facing seat of democracy that represents all of us.

For most people the only glimpse into the House of Commons is prime minister’s questions. A brawling, braying mass of privilege and elitism broadcast to the world. Noisy and often childlike, it does little to present any sort of dignified picture of parliament as both sides swap insults.

Sitting from within, the place seems no more welcoming. My first PMQs last summer was quite an eye-opener. Seated a couple of rows back on the opposition benches, I was unprepared for the volume of noise and intensity of anger as each side tested their jousting skills in an effort to win that particular sound bite war. To me, it seemed as if I had landed in an alternate universe where normal rules did not apply. It felt the epitome of arrogance and entitlement — an establishment content with looking inward, playing its own game by its own rules. Certainly a weekly test for our political leaders, but as a window to the world, it lets us down.

Parliament is a place of great historical significance, but it is a place for those who ‘have’ rather than those who ‘have not’. It starts with the rules. As an MP I can go anywhere, sit anywhere and dine anywhere. I have my own staircase, my own tearoom, my own cloakroom, green benches both inside and outside the chamber and I even have doorkeepers to look after me. But if someone else tries to walk up that staircase, dares to sit on a green bench or enters the cloakroom they are swiftly asked to leave and promptly escorted out. A modern-day democracy should not be a place that fosters this type of privilege, instead it should actively seek to break down those barriers and become the type of welcoming, open and inclusive environment that we need.

And what of the actual business of Parliament? As a new MP learning to contribute to debates, scrutinise and ask questions and make interventions was like learning a whole new language, shrouded in prohibitions and process. To rebel means not getting your voice heard. It’s either work with it or not at all.

It’s time this changed.

One of my first interventions in the chamber went horribly wrong when I mistakenly referred to a previous speaker’s point and spoke longer than I should have done. The Deputy Speaker pulled me up on it and I sat down a little red-faced. We all learn and as new MPs we’ve all had our moments, but the archaic systems imposed do little to encourage the wide debate and scrutiny that we need to see to get the best out of our government and our democracy.

This is also so in our laws. Increasingly legislation is being searched for, read and used by a wider range of people. It is no longer confined to professional libraries and lawyers. Technology has made it accessible to everyone, opening up a world of possibilities. But once found, legislation can be intricate and intimidating.

The volume of legislation, its piecemeal structure, level of detail and frequent amendments mean that even professional users find it hard to understand and navigate. We should instead be seeking to simplify our language, reduce its excessive complexity and allow those we represent a chance to get involved.

Having worked for many years in the Welsh Government and National Assembly of Wales, a relatively young democracy, it’s sometimes difficult to understand the restrictions and old-fashioned ways of Westminster. The daily printing of many hundreds of pages of Hansard, for instance, and the many hours waiting to pass through the voting lobbies, with each vote taking at least 15 minutes, seem symptomatic of a place unwilling to be pulled out of the 19th century. Technology means that these things should not need to happen. And a system of electronic voting would simplify this and introduce efficiency to the system.

But it is more than just old fashioned and inefficient. The us and them approach, between members and ‘strangers’, perpetuates privilege at the expense of equality. Why else have sittings until 11 and 12 o’clock at night? Sittings that prevent me and many others from getting home to our children, making it impossible for members, like me, who live outside London to live a life with responsibilities.

In our new intake, I’m pleased to see a consensus that we are there to shake things up. We’re not there to simply learn the old ways of doing things. With more women elected than ever before and from all different backgrounds, if we achieve anything we must make parliament a better place — more accountable and closer to the people we seek to represent. Shrugging off some of the rules, breaking down that sense of privilege and introducing and dragging it — kicking and screaming — into the modern world would be a start.

Anna McMorrin is the Member of Parliament for Cardiff North.