Friday, December 30, 2005

Waste of Parliament's time

Jacob Sanders's attack on Andrew Smith for not signing Early Day Motions (EDMs) is somewhat over the top (Oxford Mail, August 22).

EDMs are outdated and as Mr Smith has said earlier, they serve no purpose whatsover. Mr Sanders goes further by making the spurious claim that EDMs are "one of the most important means available to backbench MPs to represent their constituents in Parliament".

It may have escaped attention of Mr Sanders and his cohorts in the Green Party that the most important means available to all MPs, not just those in the backbenches, is the right to vote on the floor on the House of Commons where real and effective change can and will be realised. I believe Mr Smith's voting record is more than acceptable.

There are currently 727 open EDMs and I do not see how having my local MP spending weeks reading these specific documents is demonstrative of him representing the constituents of Oxford East, especially when no real change is ever going to be effected for doing so.

Posted on behalf of MICK McANDREWS, Burchester Avenue, Barton, Oxford