Former Liberal Party leader David Steel has launched a stinging attack on modern day politics, hitting out at the role of spin doctors.
Lord Steel claimed the introduction of TV cameras in the House of Commons has turned Prime Minister’s Questions into a weekly “insult time” session.
The former Holyrood presiding officer also claimed the Scottish Parliament had gone down the same “adverse trend” as Westminster, saying “belligerence and stridency” are now commonplace there as well.
The increasing role of spin doctors – such as Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings – is to be “deplored”, he insisted.
Lord Steel blasted the role they do, saying: “They hand out questions for MPs to ask and they daily bombard party activists by email with ‘lines to take’.
“Even I, as a humble member of the Upper House, received daily doses of laundry lists of the alleged achievements of the Lib Dems in the coalition Government and a selection of press coverage – all favourable of course, nothing critical.
“The latest addition to these daily outpourings are suggested tweets to circulate.
“Fortunately I am not a tweeter, so I swiftly delete all these unread.”
He added: “All of this contributes to the diminution of individual expression or even thought in politics.
“Little wonder that the paid-up membership of the United Kingdom political parties is in decline.”
He spoke out as he made a plea for constitutional reform in the UK, calling for the House of Lords to be replaced with a “more useful” second chamber and for there to be a written constitution.
Lord Steel was giving the Charles Kennedy lecture in Fort William, in memory of the former Liberal Democrat leader who died in 2015, shortly after losing his seat in the House of Commons.
He said he wished he – like Mr Kennedy – had opposed the Liberal Democrats’ move into coalition with the Conservatives in 2010.
Lord Steel recalled how he had had dinner with Mr Kennedy on the eve of the 2015 General Election, saying he “confessed that I had quietly abstained on the issue of the Con-Lib coalition and wished in retrospect that like him I had opposed it”.
He went on to speak about the “reduction in standards” in politics, arguing the centrepiece Commons exchanges at Prime Minister’s Question Time have now “become Prime Minister’s Insult Time, with the two protagonists exchanging well rehearsed sound bites”.
Lord Steel said: “The rot set in when the Chamber became televised and Prime Minister’s Questions became the subject of weekly electoral entertainment rather than genuine scrutiny of Government.”
Holyrood has also suffered from “the same adverse trend,” he said, despite the chamber being set out in a semi-circular fashion as part of efforts to make clashes less confrontational
“That seemed to work for the first few years,” he said.
“But no longer – belligerence and stridency are the order of the day.”
He argued the UK needs a “constitutional convention or commission to deal with the aftermath of our break from the European Union”.
Lord Steel said one of the key tasks of such a body could be “how to organise a more genuinely federal-type style of government throughout the United Kingdom”.
He added: “Here is where the reform of the House of Lords to create a more useful and democratic institution comes into play.”
Lord Steel proposed the unelected House of Lords be replaced with a new body of 500 members, “significantly less” than the current tally of more than 800 peers.
He proposed 400 representatives in this new chamber would be chosen “on the usual party political basis” being elected by MPs, and in Scotland MPs and MSPs combined, using proportional representation.
That would leave 100 members, who would also be chosen by MPs and MSPs but who would come from outside of the political parties.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here