Chuka will be speaking at the Compass No Turning Back conference next month, at London’s Institute of Education on Saturday June 13th.

The conference will address the need for a new political and economic settlement following the failure and collapse of free-market ideology. Discussions will touch upon renewing democracy, creating equality, fairness, the control of markets and environmental sustainability – issues which now sit at the centre of political debate. Chuka will be taking part in the conference’s question time session at 14.45 alongside Guardian journalists John Harris and Polly Toynbee, BBC Newsnight’s Paul Mason and Prof Ruth Lister CBE of Loughborough University. Other participants include Harriet Harman and Jon Cruddas alongside representatives of leading think tanks, trade unions and pressure groups.

To find out more about the conference and booking details, follow this link.

Chuka was a guest on the BBC’s Daily Politics show last Friday, discussing the expenses revelations, the reform of Parliament and the future of politics.

To watch the programme on iPlayer, follow this link.

With the continuing expenses revelations and debate about the role of Parliament, it is helpful to go back to basics and look at what MPs actually do.

Last week Emily Thornberry, Labour MP for Islington South let Guardian journalist Aida Edemariam follow her to find out about what her job involves on a day to day basis. One theme which emerged is the importance of constituency casework, an aspect of MPs’ work which has grown exponentially. Emily Thornberry receives over 1,000 queries from constituents a month, each of which is answered individually, on issues including housing, benefits and asylum applications. This important work, however, needs to be balanced with legislative duties in the chamber and in committees.

Emily’s work is, of course, very similar to that of our own MP, Keith Hill. Chuka has been assisting Keith with his surgeries for the last 4 years, dealing with much the same case work and helping local people with their problems.

Read the article in full here.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham, proposes radical reform of the political system.

The country has been gripped and disgusted by the reported abuses of expenses and allowances by politicians of all parties. In the wake of the political crisis which has followed, Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, has called on the country’s next generation of politicians to step forward with proposals on how to reform the system in several high profile interventions this week.

Writing in the Guardian newspaper on 21 May 2009 with Cllr Mark Bennett, a Streatham South ward councillor, Umunna and Bennett said of the scandal:

“As the Commons considers what to do, Labour’s next generation has a duty to make a contribution if it does not wish to inherit the public’s contempt.”

Commenting on the measures needed, Umunna and Bennett, said:

“We must start by recognising that if we want to dismantle the ‘gentlemen’s club’, we must tackle the machine politics out of which it was born. Root and branch constitutional reform is a prerequisite. We must elect the Lords, make the voting system more proportional and end the degraded adversarial culture of Westminster, as exemplified by the so-called theatre of prime minister’s questions.”

Umunna is also part of a panel of experts including the pollster, Peter Kellner, the former independent MP, Martin Bell and Tory MP Ann Widdecombe brought together today by the Independent on Sunday to consider how to solve Parliament’s problems.

Asked whether he thought we were in danger of going too far in condemning MPs and putting off good people from politics, Umunna said in the newspaper:

“Yes. My own MP, for example, is ranked 597th out of the 645 MPs for the amount of expenses he claimed in 2008. He has no right to claim for a second home and did not even know he could nor would he dream of claiming for food, yet all MPs are shamed by association with the miscreants. While there are decent people like my MP, nevertheless I fear this Parliament will go down as the ‘Rotten Parliament’.”

Umunna was also asked whether he thought electoral reform would improve perceptions of MPs’ probity, and said:

“Yes. MPs say their claims were within the rules but if the rules are so moribund, where was the clamour for change in the Commons before the abuses were published? Parliament is a gentleman’s club born out of machine politics. Electoral reform would introduce multi-party politics, the revival of a culture of scrutiny and blow the status quo apart, which is just what we need.”

In addition, in today’s Sunday Times, Umunna calls for party parliamentary selection processes to be opened up and to involve local people:

“I am really keen on more public involvement in the selection of candidates. The power to shortlist candidates could be retained by the party, but you could consider introducing some public involvement in selecting the actual candidate.”

Earlier in the week, Umunna was a signatory to a letter highly critical of the Labour Party leadership for its handling of the issue.

Earlier this week, referring to the continuing political crisis engulfing Westminster, Chuka said that “Labour’s next generation has a duty to make a contribution if it does not wish to inherit the public’s contempt”. In that vein Chuka appears in today’s Independent on Sunday, in which he argues in favour of reforming the electoral system, and the Sunday Times, in which he argues for party selection processes of candidates to be made more open and to involve the public. Click on the logos below to read what Chuka said.

Many of my fellow PPCs have signed up to these ethics pledges that Progress, the independent organisation for Labour party members, has put together - I agree with them and pledge to observe them. However, I think we need to go further (which is not to say that others do not) if we are to restore trust between voters and political representatives. In the article below, which appears in today’s Guardian, I advance some suggestions on how to do so with my friend and colleague, Cllr Mark Bennett, who serves Streatham South.

The collective reputation of MPs has been burned to ash and the clean-up begins not a moment too soon. MPs of all parties have been shamed, but it has been most galling when associated with people on the left, who were first elected by telling voters they would change the rules – in politics and beyond – to make Britain better and fairer. Labour activists who go door to door for them have been on the receiving end of public anger and are themselves furious.

The mantra often repeated is “my claims were within the rules”, but this is a complete irrelevance when the claims do not stand up to moral scrutiny. How can they not see this?

It appears they have been deafened to political reality by the siren songs of vested interest, manifested in the deference of Commons police and staff, the patronage of the whips, the Speaker’s offices and the indulgence of the fees office. To the public, it seems they have been rewarded with TVs, kitchens, massage chairs and imaginary mortgages for doing so. If politics in Britain is to have a future, all this must change.

Another future is possible. We are two Labour politicians but there are many more of us – parliamentary candidates, councillors and activists – who still believe in what Harold Wilson called the “moral crusade” of our party. We are all putting our hearts and souls into it and a better future for our communities.

Most of our politicians are idealistic and well-intentioned. The corrupt are few, and now is the time for them to be driven from office by the many who want to rebuild trust in what should be an honest and open vocation.

As the Commons considers what to do, Labour’s next generation has a duty to make a contribution if it does not wish to inherit the public’s contempt.

We must start by recognising that if we want to dismantle the “gentlemen’s club”, we must tackle the machine ¬politics out of which it was born. Root and branch constitutional reform is a prerequisite. We must elect the Lords, make the voting system more ¬proportional and end the degraded adversarial culture of Westminster, as exemplified by the so-called theatre of prime minister’s questions.

The Labour party must change too. MPs who have acted within the rules but outside the bounds of public acceptability should be deselected. There is a moral and political imperative to do so – we will not retain seats where we are offering damaged goods. The higher education minister David Lammy has mooted introducing primaries as a way of making parliamentary selection more open, and to involve the public. The clamour for this is growing.

But first, changes to MPs’ expenses and the election of the Speaker are imminent. Gordon Brown’s proposal of an independent parliamentary standards regulator, responsible for pay and allowances, is welcome. Expenses should now be fully published online and investigated without further delay, with absolute application of the law towards MPs found to have broken it.

Whatever shape the new expenses system takes, one principle should win out: there must be an end to any privileges that set MPs apart from the people they represent – no first class travel, no London congestion charge reclaim, and no claims for anything that is not directly related to the work of being an MP.

In 1994, the then Labour leader, John Smith, said: “The opportunity to serve our country – that is all we ask.” Service. That is what our parliamentarians need to remember as they consider reform. The time has come to serve the people, not politicians.

Dear Resident

Like the public in general I have been horrified at the evidence of abuse of the parliamentary allowances system. As an MP representing an inner London seat, with my home in Streatham, I knew nothing of the scope for manipulation of the second home arrangement and was amazed to learn of the £400 monthly food allowance. I eat all my meals in the week at the House of Commons and it had never occurred to me that an MP would not pay out of his or her own pocket for them.

I wanted to be an MP because I believed it to be a noble and decent activity and I have always tried to do the right thing. Now, alas, we are all contaminated and I shall retire next year from a tainted institution.

However, because the elected House of Commons is the lynch pin of our democracy we must act firmly to establish its integrity in relation to expenses and salaries. The Committee on Standards in Public Life, under the chairmanship of Sir Christopher Kelly, is due to report on expenses in the autumn. It seems likely that it will recommend an independent body to determine the nature and size of expenses and their independent audit – I shall support such proposals.

It seems to me blindingly obvious that MPs should not be voting either on their allowances or on their salaries. Indeed, in the mid 1990s I was one of the MPs who voted for their pay to be decided by the independent Senior Salaries Review Board and this was also the recommendation in Sir John Baker’s report on MPs’ salaries last summer. I hope we can stick with the independent determination of MPs’ pay instead of governments repeatedly meddling.

I have written at greater length about this issue on my website and would invite you to visit it at www.keithhill.org.uk for further details. However, I write now simply to reassure you that there has been no abuse of parliamentary expenses here in Streatham. Our local Labour Party is not of great means. Chuka Umunna, a local boy and our new parliamentary candidate, has spent just under £15K on his campaign to date, less than one fifth of that spent by other political parties in this area. His campaign is mainly funded from small donations from local people, with additional funding from local trade union members. That is the way it should be.

As ever, I am at your service. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need assistance.

Best wishes,

Keith

Rt. Hon. Keith Hill MP
Member of Parliament for Streatham

The parliamentary constituency of Streatham covers Streatham and parts of Clapham, Balham, Tulse Hill and Brixton.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham, this week joined forces with Stephen Fry to promote Votematch, a new application which aims to boost turnout at the upcoming European elections.

The event, held at Apple’s flagship Central London store in Regent St on 11 May 2008, organised by the pressure group UnlockDemocracy, showcased the Votematch application which allows users to see how closely aligned their own views are with parties standing in the European elections.

After answering a series of policy-based questions and deciding which issues matter most to them, users can see how their responses compare with party positions on each issue, and how closely each party’s manifesto as a whole matches their own views, with the aim of encouraging them to vote in the European elections.

The application, which is accessible both online and via handheld devices such as the iPhone, has been successful in boosting voter turnout elsewhere in Europe. UnlockDemocracy hopes that the same will be true here, as the turnout for the last European elections in 2004 was a paltry 37.6% in the UK.

At the launch of the online tool, which helps citizens orientate themselves and become better informed about the political choices they make, the actor and comedian, Stephen Fry, described the online tool as being “like a dating site for voters”.

Alongside host Fry, the launch event was supported by Chuka Umunna, Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, Jennette Arnold AM, Deputy Chair of the London Assembly, and Mary Honeyball MEP (who is standing for re-election for the London European constituency next month) for Labour. For the Conservatives, David Davis MP attended, whilst the Liberal Democrats were represented by Chris Huhne MP and the Greens by Jean Lambert AM.

Commenting on the launch and his support of Votematch, Chuka Umunna said:

“Anything that can help boost voter turnout is a good idea, and combining democracy and new technology will help engage people who might not have voted otherwise, especially young people.

“For the European elections, it is imperative that all mainstream parties
encourage people to get out and vote, not least so that we can prevent the BNP from gaining representation.

“These elections offer the BNP the chance to gain an MEP in London. There is a real danger that the BNP could grab enough votes to do so, giving them as much as £250K a year of public money in the form of salaries, resources and office costs.”

Chuka was a guest on BBC One’s Politics Show on Sunday, discussing Boris Johnson’s cancellation of Rise Festival and promoting the UpRise campaign to save the anti-racism event. To see Chuka’s appearance, follow this link (the Rise feature is at 48mins in)

This week, Chuka attended the launch of Votematch, a new application which aims to boost turnout at the upcoming European elections. The event, organised by the pressure group UnlockDemocracy, was held at Apple’s flagship Central London store in Regent Street and hosted by actor and comedian Stephen Fry.

The event showcased the Votematch application, which allows people to see how closely aligned their own views are with parties standing in the European elections. After answering a series of policy-based questions and deciding which issues matter most to them, users can see how their responses compare with party positions on each issue, and how closely each party’s manifesto as a whole matches their own views, with the aim of encouraging them to vote in the European elections. Introducing the application, Stephen Fry described it as being “like a dating site for voters”.

Commenting on the launch and on his support for Votematch, Chuka said: “Anything that can help boost voter turnout is a good idea, and combining democracy and new technology will help engage people who might not have voted otherwise, especially young people. For the European elections, it is imperative that all mainstream parties encourage people to get out and vote, not least so that we can prevent the BNP from gaining representation.”

Vote Match is accessible both online and via handheld devices such as the iPhone, and has been successful in boosting voter turnout elsewhere in Europe. Take the Votematch test here.