Reading West MP Martin Salter was tonight celebrating what he described as a “little bit of history” when both the Government and the Opposition front benches in the Commons were defeated by a large margin by backbench MPs of all parties determined to wrest control over Commons business from the whips.

Mr Salter was a member of the Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons chaired by Labour MP Tony Wright and played a prominent role in organising MPs to turn up and vote through a full package of reforms which:

• Give MPs the ability to directly elect both the chairs and the members (by party) of the Select Committees of the House of Commons;
• Establishes a Backbench Business Committee to give the Commons control over all non-Government business;
• Establishes a House Business Committee which will ensure that Government business managers have to seek the approval of senior MPs on matters to put before the Commons and on the scrutiny of important legislation.

Martin Salter said:-

“For far too long Parliament has often seemed little more than the poodle of Government and important legislation or controversial measures often escape proper scrutiny by the use of procedural devices. This is because the organisation of business has been left to the whips and the government business managers but now that MPs have finally decided to get off their knees and start exerting a little influence and a little control, it is unlikely that any major issue in the future will escape proper examination before being passed into the law of the land. It is a shame that both the Conservative and Labour front benches tried to water down the Wright Committee proposals because the nation will get better laws if there is a better system of effective scrutiny.”

He added:-

“There is no doubt that in the wake of the expenses scandal our constituents expect us to demonstrate that we are serious about putting reform of the House of Commons back on track. The Wright Committee proposals represent a good but modest start and are a little bit of history, but clearly much more still needs to be done. Unless we show that we are serious about making a break with the past and delivering a stronger and more effective Commons Chamber with scope for greater public engagement and proper backbench control over House Business, it is going to be difficult to convince people that, collectively, we really have embraced the call for change. It is of the utmost importance, as we move closer to the general election, that this of all Parliaments can prove to the public that its MPs are serious about reform.”