I think the solution is in the root and branch reform promised by the Gordon Brown. I think we need root and branch reform of the electoral system, and root and branch reform of  Parliament itself.

But before I get on to that, I want to say a bit about the problem.

Most people never get to meet their MP, in fact, most people have no idea who their MP is, let alone what they do all day.  The elections in 2001 and 2005 had the lowest turnouts since the First World War. Political parties on all sides are struggling to recruit and keep members.  

Political debate generally comes across as very childish, something like this:

Politician 1:     “Everything you said is wrong because you don't understand the issues.”

Politician 2:    “No, everything you said is wrong because you don't understand the issues.”

Politician 1:    “Well these statistics prove you're wrong.”

Politician 2:    “No, these statistics prove you're wrong.”
 
The extreme example of this is Prime Ministers Questions, which basically comes across as pantomime. Party leaders lean over the despatch box, wagging their fingers, while theatrically reading sound bites they prepared earlier. All the while, MP's wave their order papers and jeer.

Well I think a constituent is entitled to look at this and ask “What's this got to do with me?”

The system doesn't make sense, largely because the House of Commons doesn't make sense. What the public want to see are politicians managing their tax money responsibly and effectively, and the endless point-scoring and bickering does nothing to reassure them.

The way to start winning the public around is to scrap the layout of the commons altogether and start again. Build a proper debating chamber, in a horse-shoe shape, with a seat for every MP. Of course, there is nowhere near enough space for this, because we have way too many MP's.

As has been suggested by several people, we could easily reduce the number of MP's by about a third, saving the taxpayer money while giving those that remain enough space and resources to be able to do a proper job. There's no evidence that larger constituencies mean worse service, as long as constituency offices are given enough money to do the job.

This would also be a great opportunity to scrap two other relics of a bygone age, the lobby system, and “catching the speaker's eye”. The sight of MP's bouncing up and down like yo-yo's trying to speak, and then being herded through the lobbies trying to vote is just bizzare.

This is the 21st century, and these things waste MP's time, and sap public confidence that Parliament knows what it's doing. We need to publish lists of speakers before a debate, and vote electronically afterwards.

Now I know that some MP's will complain that the traditions of Parliament are our heritage – that they're as much a part of British life as the changing of the guard. But the changing of the guard happens in public for tourists. The only audience in Parliament are the MP's themselves, and from the outside, the traditions don't give the public much confidence in that MP's are working hard to represent their views.

Of course the other way that we don't represent their views is in the electoral system itself. Most people in the UK live in safe seats, so are disenfranchised in two ways. Not only does their vote make no practical difference to which side wins the election, but unless they happen to be a member of a political party, they get no say in who the candidate is either.

Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for the country, our electoral system is skewed in favour of Labour. If the country votes exactly 50% Labour and 50% Tory, Labour wins the election by about 90 seats. Now this isn't anyone's fault, it's just a side-effect of the “First Past the Post” system, but it's by no means the only one.

The system sounds fair - it seems like common sense, but the results it produces are unfair. A fair election gives the country the political mix it voted for, and that means some form of proportional representation.

There's no way of getting around it. Both the main parties have hung on to the electoral system way past it's sell-by date, but clinging to a system where most people's votes count for nothing is bound to alienate them.

So, to wrap up, my argument is this:

Our Party, and all political parties, have lost their relevance, because we've got stuck doing things in the way they've always been done.

Now is the time to be really radical. Build a new Parliament that discourages bickering and encourages consensus. Transform elections so that everyone feels they have a voice.

Let's put an end to the soap opera. Let's have less Eastenders in Westminster.

Thank you very much.