Rules, not Guidelines

The longer Boris Johnson remains Prime Minister, the more apparent it is that something fundamental needs to change in Westminster. If the parliament is to continue to function, whoever is Johnson's successor needs to bring in some fundamental changes. (Of course, I don't believe Westminster is capable of making these changes - that is, after all, the precise reason I support Scottish Independence.)

The fundamental problem is that Westminster operates on the assumption that those involved are fundamentally honourable. As a consequence of this the place has very few strict rules, and an awful lot of conventions, guidelines, and other mechanisms.

The problem with that is that when someone comes alone with no respect whatsoever for conventions, the whole thing falls apart.

The notion that the Prime Minister is the final arbiter on whether someone has broken the Ministerial Code is a major problem. This means that when a minister is found to have bullied staff, the PM could (and did) casually ignore the report and leave her in post. Even more absurdly, the PM is now being investigated... and will then be able to rule whether he himself broke the code (spoiler: he absolutely did, and he absolutely will exonerate himself).

But, of course, even the fact that he's having to be investigated is itself shocking. It's practically inconceivable that these parties would have happened under Theresa May or Gordon Brown - for all their faults, both were without question serious figures well aware of the need for leadership, especially now. It's also inconceivable, although for different reasons, that it would happen under either David Cameron or Tony Blair - both are sufficiently media savvy that they likewise would never let it happen. (And Major and Thatcher were creatures of a different age. The scandals were utterly different there.)

The consequence of that is that the system has broken down. It needs to change.

And the change is pretty simple: where there are standards of behaviour that are expected, but that are covered by conventions and guidelines, these need to become rules with proper sanctions. Suspected breaches of those rules need to be conducted by an entirely separate body, with the power to demand answers, access any and all documents, and issue sanctions. And any such investigations have to be triggered automatically - no more of this business of the government choosing when and what to investigate, and assigning their pet civil servants to the job.

I have no confidence that any of this will happen. But it must.

#2: "The Nature of Middle Earth", by J.R.R. Tolkien (one for the fanatics only!)