Julie Kirkbride, constitutional reform and Royal Commissions

I am beginning to think that the Julie Kirkbride episode in the never-ending MPs’ expenses scandal could well undermine the leadership that Cameron has recently shown and do his party collateral damage.  Cameron needs to close this down and insist that she resigns as an MP at the next election.  The discussion between Fraser Nelson and Iain Dale last night on The World Tonight did nothing to help her cause.

Moving on.  The party leaders are falling over themselves in wanting to come up with the best ideas on constitutional reform and how and when this should be achieved.  The Guardian has this from Nick Clegg:

Let us bar the gates of Westminster and stop MPs leaving for their summer holidays until this crisis has been sorted out.

I'm setting out a plan of action to get all the changes we need delivered in just 100 days – making it possible for MPs to be sacked by their constituents, abolishing the House of Lords, getting corrupt money out of politics and changing the electoral system to give a voice to everyone.

Meanwhile, The Indy reports that Jack Straw will lead emergency cross party talks that will begin in two weeks:

They will discuss sweeping overhaul of Commons procedures, as well as the power to remove unpopular MPs and the case for introducing fixed-term parliaments. Reflecting the urgency of the crisis facing politics since the expenses scandal erupted, the aim will be to produce a blueprint for reform by the summer. However, there is no prospect of the talks discussing changes to the voting system.

Off course, what is driving this ‘mine is bigger than yours” mentality are the June elections.  Perhaps we should have a pause for a few days in the frenzy of activity to reform the way we govern ourselves.  What we need are well thought out reforms that are not rushed to meet the political timetable.  Whatever happened to Royal Commissions?  Surely, that would be a more preferable way forward in this heated atmosphere than Clegg’s infantile ideas.

In another famous phase that Macmillan pinned on the door of his private office in Downing Street:

Calm deliberation disentangles every knot.