Mike Weatherley, the Conservative MP for Hove, has signed a parliamentary motion calling for the public to have the right to recall MPs.
Mr Weatherley has signed early day motion 309 which calls on the government to introduce the right to recall MPs through a citizens’ petition.
Current proposals allow for petitions to be initiated only by a resolution of the House of Commons and not at the public’s request.
The right to recall MPs was in the manifestos of all three political parties at the last general election and was carried forward into the coalition agreement.
Mr Weatherley has been a consistent advocate of allowing the public to have a greater say over how they are governed.
He has also supported calls for a referendum on the Britain’s membership of the European Union as well a calling for a local referendum on the Greens’ planned council tax rises in Brighton and Hove.
Hsaid: “I am happy to support any measure that will help rebuild the public’s faith in politics.
“Introducing the right to recall MPs will strengthen our democracy, give more power to the public and enable voters to hold their Members of Parliament to account.
“This was a manifesto commitment of all three political parties and I am keen to see this implemented as soon as possible.”
Bad idea, which comes from the United States, a country whose democratic shortcomings are about to be shown up again, I suspect.
What will happen if this comes in is that any politician who takes a brave position on anything will be vulnerable to challenge from a political lynch mob. If Mr Weatherley wants to ‘help rebuild the public’s faith in politics’ he should support proper electoral reform (i.e., not AV). At the moment most seats are not competitive races and the system delivers an unfair ‘win bonus’ – his own party won nearly half the seats on 37% of the vote.