The Sketch: Harriet Harman makes the case against democracy

She keeps on saying her plan is to make the Commons stronger in order to hold the executive to account. "Strong scrutiny means good government," she says and her supporters nod sagely. Now I see the point of 16-year-olds. At my age, you can't scowl and raise your upper lip and jeer, "Yeah, right." It's just not seemly. I need 16-year olds! Hatty Harman (she's some sort of kinswoman of Lord Longford) won the race for deputy leader of the Labour Party so she is now Leader of the House.

When you want to make your case against democracy you should remember that fact. In this capacity, and "speaking for the Commons as much as for the Government", she defends the new ruling that allows Parliamentary Private Secretaries to sit on select committees.

Bob Marshall-Andrews brought it up on Wednesday. You could tell he found it unpleasant. Select committees were supposed to scrutinise the government, he said, and a PPS was a "de facto member of the government". The conflict of interest was clear. So how did it square with the "noble sentiments" expressed by our new PM about the independence of parliament? Gordon Brown said all was well as no PPS would sit on the departmental committees for which his or her minister was responsible.

This was as poor a reply as anything Hatty came up with yesterday. She kept saying piteously that a PPS wasn't a member of the Government. Well, if they're not they bloody well want to be, and bloody well expect to be. All they have to do is toe the government line and lick the shining boot of Geoff Hoon as he glides into the chief whip's office.

Public Bill committees have whips sitting in on them; select committees don't. The presence of government narks will not increase the vitality of independent questioning.

I'd deduced it had to be the Whips' Office behind this, and assumed it was Hoon increasing his powers of patronage. In fact it may be more prosaic. They've appointed so many PPSs there aren't enough "sound" backbenchers to go on committees. If they couldn't place the trusties (or toadies) you'd have to appoint people like Marshall-Andrews.

Commons scrutiny of the executive is poor. The select committee system is the best part of the apparatus. Chairmen such as Dunwoody, Walley, Connarty, Chaytor, Challen - these Labour names come up as genuine scrutineers. Would this reform feature in any list of five ways to improve their committee? Sixteen-year-olds, please! Still, it's another glimpse of the Brown stuff. Yes, we're starting to see themes emerging. And plus ça change is one of them.

simoncarr@sketch.sc

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