British MPs support cooperation between IPU and financial institutions

From left to right: Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, IPU Secretary General; Mr John Wilkinson and Mr. John Austin, British MPs; Miss Christine Pintat, former IPU Assistant Secretary General and Mr. Kenneth Courtenay, Secretary General of the British Inter-Parliamentary Group. Photo : ST/UIP

The governing Council of the IPU is holding its 171st session and Special Session in Geneva in September. The main theme of the Special Session being Financing for Development, we asked two British MPs for their comments on the IPU's actions aimed at strengthening cooperation with financial institutions.

Q: Can the IPU play a role when it comes to cooperating with financial institutions?

Mr. John Austin, Chairman of the British Inter-Parliamentary Group

The principal responsibility of MPs is to represent their people, and increasingly decisions in a globalised economy are taken not just by governments but by international organizations which are outside the parliamentary process. It is right that the IPU is seeking to find some way of engaging with organizations like the World Bank or the World Trade Organization, as well as the intergovernmental agencies like the United Nations and its agencies, so that parliamentarians can begin to engage with the organizations where decisions are made. I am one of those parliamentarians who believes that the influence that we wield within the European Union in order to agree policies in Europe can actually be a more powerful voice within organizations like the WTO.

Mr. John Wilkinson, British MP

I am a British parliamentarian. I think we have a particular difficulty in as much as for the United Kingdom, as a member country of the European Union, our trade policy is in essence decided for us by the European Union. So as British national parliamentarians we don't have the direct input into the policy-making process, that would be healthy, and we have to do it at one remove. First by pressure on our Government through the Council of Ministers so that sensible policies can be pursued, and intergovernmentally through the Union itself and through the World Trade Organization. Any enhanced dialogue that can be secured with these bodies is thoroughly healthy. I am pleased that the Inter-Parliamentary Union is working to bring that about - in particular with the World Trade Organization - and I think that can only be for the good.

The United Kingdom is one of the co-founders of the IPU and the British Parliament is holding a major conference in 2004. How would you assess the importance of this conference?

Mr. John Austin: It is important for us because we were co-founders of the IPU but I don't think we are so arrogant that we believe we can tell the rest of the world how to organize their democracy or run their parliaments. We are going through a very substantial period of change ourselves within our own democracy with the devolution of power to regional and national assemblies. And indeed, in reforming and changing the procedures in our own Parliament, including fundamental change with regard to the second chamber of our Parliament, I think we still have a lot to offer to other democracies but I think we also have much to learn from them.

Mr. John Wilkinson: I strongly agree that we have a great deal to learn and it is thoroughly healthy, at a time when in our own country there is some apprehension that parliamentary scrutiny and control of the Executive may be becoming less effective, that we share with colleague parliamentarians in a very public way in our capital city, our mutual interest in making parliament as an institution work. As John said, we have an immense amount to learn. As we are going through a process of change and reform in the United Kingdom other parliamentarians will be very interested to see what we have achieved so far and where our policy of reform is leading, particularly with regard to devolution to the component parts of the United Kingdom. Regional government is now being talked about in the United Kingdom as well. So, it looks as if it is going to be a very timely and fascinating conference.

Mr. John Austin: I am in agreement with John in terms of the role of parliamentarians in the scrutiny of the Executive. I think we will both concur from different political perspectives that, under the previous Conservative governments and the present Labour government, we have seen a concentration of power in the hands of the Executive and a diminution of the scrutiny role of parliament. In the United Kingdom it is interesting to see that we have devolved some powers to national assemblies in Wales and in Scotland and, in some areas, the new legislatures have given greater powers to the parliamentarians over the Executive than we have in Westminster.