Trevor Phillip’s idea of a four term limit on MPs' careers to increase the diversity of the back benches is getting a bit of a kicking on the blogs. Even the usually mild mannered Sunder Katwala declares the idea ‘entirely unworkable’. Luke Akehurst goes further saying the proposal is ‘profoundly undemocratic’ and would lead to a dearth of candidates talented and experienced enough for the cut and thrust of front bench politics. He points out that Churchill, Thatcher, Atlee, Foot, Benn, Disraeli and Gladstone would all have had their parliamentary careers cut short if Phillip’s proposal had been in place.
I do think Phillips is on a bit of a hiding to nothing with his suggestion of a four term limit, although I sympathise with the motives behind it. As Katwala points out there is no guarantee such a policy would end up increasing the proportion of ethnic minority MPs – both Keith Vaz and Diane Abbott would have had to leave parliament at the last election if it had been in place. In addition the proposal could end up creating its own diversity problems by artificially lowering the average age of MPs in parliament. Katwala warns that the proposal would ‘significantly cull the number of MPs aged over 65, despite that being the fastest-growing section of the population’.
Both Akehurst and Katwala are surely right that instead of proposing artificial time-limits on MPs careers Phillips ought to be concentrating on ways in which the process of selecting parliamentary candidates can be made more open to ethnic minorities. Indeed, analysis of recent parliamentary intake and selections suggests that may already be happening. The Fabian Society have calculated that by 2005 7.5% of the new parliamentary intake were non-white MPs, and there was a similar proportion among candidate selections. According to the research Labour is selecting BME candidates in 10.5% of new candidate selections (ie, where a sitting MP is not running again) and this rises to over 15% in Labour held seats. Since black and ethnic minority citizens make up 8% of the population, Labour has a strong case to make that judged on statistics its selection procedures are representative. Although admittedly, at the current rate of turnover, it will be a long time before the House of Commons reflects the full diversity of British society. Trevor clearly doesn't want to wait; but is there any other democratic option?