Cut ministers by third says former PM
Former Prime Minister Sir John Major today called for the number of Government ministers to be slashed by as much as one-third, to end the dominance of Parliament by the "payroll vote".
Sir John said he was "dismayed" by the "malfunctioning" of Britain's democracy and by the low regard in which politics is viewed by ordinary voters.
In an apparent criticism of first-past-the-post voting for Westminster elections, he said that the system delivered "freakish Government majorities" which did not reflect the true balance of political opinion in the country.
He called for changes to parliamentary rules to give select committees - which scrutinise the activity of Whitehall departments - more power and to give backbenchers alternative career routes other than seeking to become a junior minister.
Sir John, who was Conservative Prime Minister from 1990-97, said it would be possible to reduce the overall size of the payroll vote - which usually includes around 90-100 MPs - by "a quarter to one-third".
He also called for a reduction in the size of the House of Commons, saying that backbench service is often a "pretty fruitless" activity for MPs and said that Parliament needed more people with experience of life outside politics.
Sir John told the House of Commons Public Administration Committee: "I am pretty dismayed at the disregard in which politics is held today and the way in which politics often seems to malfunction.
"I think this can be put right, and I think it needs to be put right, and part of the remedy is reforms to make the Commons more efficient and better-regarded. I think we would benefit from a wider and more experienced membership.
"For far too many members at the moment, backbench life - particularly in opposition - can be pretty fruitless and hardly uses their talents.
"Our system throws up freakish government majorities that bear very little relationship to the voting pattern of the electorate at large. To address these over-mighty governments, Parliament needs more ability to challenge the executive."
He added: "In my view, the Commons has too many members. Certainly, the Government has too many ministers. The payroll vote is too dominant."
