On-line is the future, says MP

Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies (right) has thrown his weight behind new media and is supporting a bid to have online petitions officially recognised and accepted for debate in the House of Commons.

Mr. Davies, who helped 'switch on' both the mywelshpool and the mynewtown sites, believes the proposal will enable politicians and the political system to connect better with a new generation being brought up on the internet.

“We have to find ways of connecting the people of Britain with their Parliament,” he said. “I believe allowing the public, by popular vote, to propose matters for parliamentary debate would be an effective way of achieving it. I accept that this process may well bring forward matters that the Government may not want to debate, and could theoretically lead to what Labour call ‘crazy ideas’ coming forward.  But we have to trust the people to take seriously a genuine attempt by Government to engage.

“I’m pleased there is to be serious consideration of ensuring parliamentary debate of online petitions, involving the Speaker and others. It’s a worthwhile idea and I will be pressing the Leader of the House to move quickly on making it a reality.”

The proposal is that online petitions supported by more than a certain number of names will be considered by the appropriate House of Commons Committee and the Speaker before then being brought forward for parliamentary debate by MPs.

It is likely that implementing legislation will not automatically allow 'inappropriate' subjects to be debated. It would also be the case that any popular online proposal would have to be converted into a 'bill' by parliamentary draftsmen. However the principle would be that the public would choose what MPs debated for the first time.

Mr. Davies is a regular user of new media to reach out to his constituents and regularly updates his blog as well as his Facebook status to reflect the day’s big issues.