PSA ParliamentsBy Paul Cairney
It is now commonplace in Britain to bemoan the failings of the ‘political class’. A wide selection of broadcast, print and social media commentators argue that elected politicians in the UK are not representative of their constituents. Instead, they are part of a self-referential ‘political class’ which is increasingly distant from the real world and mistrusted by the public.
By Louise Thompson
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow suggested in a speech last week that it “wouldn’t be so heretical” to consider whether Commons votes might in the future be taken with the help of modern technology. Housed in the nineteenth century building is an increasingly techy Parliament and a digitally aware cohort of MPs. In the last few years alone we have seen MPs tweeting directly from the chamber, parliamentary papers delivered to Members’ iPads and speeches given from tablets rather than handwritten notes. Electronic voting then seems quite a natural progression.