Unfree Information

This might seem an unlikely subject for this blog, but as someone who has used Freedom of Information provisions before, the recent disgrace in the House of Commons regarding its provisions resonates sharply with me.

What happened? Last Friday, a Conservative-sponsored private members' bill was passed (78 Labour and 18 Tories voting in favour) exempting MPs and Lords from the Freedom of Information Act. Hypocritical at the very least in the argument that legislators should be exempt from a part of the law that they have passed, this bill will only add to increased mistrust and suspicion with which politicians are viewed by many members of the public. Elected representatives should be at the front of ensuring transparent and accessible government, not putting up further limits and curbs on obtaining information relevant to MPs' work.

As Saturday's Guardian leader put it:
"The grounds for doing so were spurious, an exaggerated fear about the exposure of private correspondence that failed to disguise parliament's fundamental distaste for making its inner workings public. The smell of a private gentlemen's club, all beeswax and dusty velvet, hung over the debate, the outcome of which was about as far as it is possible to get from openness and accountability."