Call to reform 'narcissistic' early day motions tabled by MPs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22284669

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Early day parliamentary motions are expensive, "highly narcissistic" and often not written by the MPs who table them, it has been claimed.

The future of the motions, used by MPs to raise issues, is in doubt amid concerns about their cost and purpose.

Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston told a committee hearing that they falsely gave the "impression of action".

But her colleague David Nuttall said they were often the "birthplace of good campaigns and ideas".

Early day motions are formal motions submitted for debate in Parliament that can be tabled by any MP or peer.

However, very few make their way on to the floor of the House of Commons and they are typically used to draw attention to an issue or personal campaign.

More than 1,330 EDMs have been tabled in the current session of Parliament, ranging from concerns about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners and praise for the bravery of troops in Afghanistan to calls for an English national anthem and a change to the kick-off time of the FA Cup Final.

The majority attract only a handful of signatories although some get the backing of numerous MPs from all parties.

Critics claim they are increasingly redundant in the digital age and the cost of processing them - about £370,000 a year - cannot be justified.

Graham Evans, Conservative MP for Weaver Vale, told the Commons procedure committee that MPs wanting to raise subjects could do so more effectively via Twitter or by requesting a debate through the backbench business committee.

He said many EDMs were utterly frivolous while others - such as an EDM praising Jimmy Savile after his death in November 2011 and tabled before the full extent of abuse allegations against him became clear - now looked ridiculous.

"Twenty-six people signed an EDM recognising the achievements of Jimmy Savile. They must feel pretty stupid," he said,

'Like Marmite'

Mr Evans added that it was "ridiculous" that each EDM cost in the region of £400 and the whole process needed to be pared back. "There is the opportunity to virtually strip out the costs totally and achieve what members want to do which is some form of communication."

Mrs Wollaston, Tory MP for Totnes, said her principal concern was that EDMs "gave the false impression to constituents that action is being taken" when that was not the case.

Many were "very obviously" written by lobbyists, she suggested, and that should be made clear by the parliamentarians who put their name to them.

Mr Nuttall, Conservative MP for Bury, admitted that many of the subjects raised were "nonsense" but compared the practice to a football club's youth policy where many of the recruits fall by the wayside but others turn out to be real stars.

"I don't think MPs take them too seriously but they can be the birthplace of good campaigns and ideas," he said. "The solution is not to abolish them but to make them more meaningful."

Charles Walker, the Tory MP who chairs the committee, said EDMs were a "bit like Marmite" (you either love it or you hate it) and the committee should retain an "open mind" about them.