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I can hardly write a column and ignore the thousands of newspaper pages that have been devoted to such a huge story over the last month.

No, I am not referring to the shock defeat of Susan Boyle by Diversity in the final of Britain’s Got Talent. Mind you, there was certainly far more enthusiasm for voting in that election than in the European ones.

I am of course referring to the revelation on MPs expenses. Maybe we should rename our general election Britain’s Got Political Talent with voting taking place by text – it would certainly improve the turnout.

The standing of MPs and Parliament has taken a battering over the last month. In some cases this criticism has been well deserved and for all MPs, myself included, we must shoulder the blame for a system that has been in operation for over 20 years but has allowed abuses to take place that are incomprehensible to most people. It is true that changes have already been made.

The system under which the claims of moats, swimming pool repairs, non existent mortgages and duck houses were made should not make these possible now.

But the changes do not go far enough and those MPs who supported freedom of information and changes to the allowances over the years were probably not aware, as I was not, just how appalling some of the claims had been. In respect of my own claims, I have set out my case in this magazine and on my website www.claire-ward.org.uk.

The public are understandably angry and although some of the intense heat may subside, the real challenge for Parliament and all political parties is to restore confidence in our democracy and our politics.

In my view, the overwhelming majority of people from all parties go into local or national politics because they want to play a part in improving our society.

Whether it is getting involved in the local parish council or becoming an MP, most want to contribute to building a better community. It’s what public service is all about.

So now is the time to get the public engaged in a real debate about how we run our country at every level.

How do we encourage people from all walks of life and all stages of life to be involved in shaping policy?

Is it time for MPs to be banned from taking any outside work or employment? Should we make our committees far stronger so that they can challenge government ministers and do the job that the media have taken on themselves in recent years? Should we reduce the age of voting to 16 and make it compulsory to vote?

Surely it is time that MPs were given a job description so that there was some common basis of operation, not just on how each of us feels we should do the job.

I would be interested to hear readers’ views and perhaps all the parties can start to take on board some of the ideas.

No party has a clear conscience on what has happened but we can all take responsibility for getting the future right and putting the public at the heart of public service.

 

Some months ago Watford was on the short list as a possible venue for holding the G20 summit. Whilst it would have been prestigious and put our town on the international map, I am not quite so sure that thousands of anarchists, anti capitalists and others would have been quite so welcome if they took out their anger and frustration on Watford high street. So with hindsight, it probably was more sensible to hold it in London but at least we were in the running. As the great political leaders of the world arrived in the city earlier this month, it was with a huge expectation that by working together we can combat the recession that has taken a global grip. As I write this column we are still awaiting an update on the various meetings of the leaders. I am hopeful that those 20 men and women will seize the chance to work together for the benefit of all those on this planet and not to act in a way that not only protects their own people but does so at the cost of others.

One of the issues that has featured high on the list for discussion around the G20 has been climate change. We all know that the world is getting warmer and that the affects upon our planet are devastating. We know too that we have to be conscious of the fuel reserves that remain and the way in which we use them. That is why many companies and countries are looking at alternative sources of fuel such as wind, solar, geothermal (that’s heat from the ground) and even greater use of nuclear. I recently had the chance to visit a project in Berlin with Total who are based in Watford to look at the hydrogen fuel cell projects being developed. These prototype cars are fuelled by a rather complicated process (for us non scientists) which converts water into hydrogen which then fuels an electric motor. The partners in the project which include car manufacturers, fuel companies and the German government are hopeful that this will be a successful project and one more way in which we can help to reduce carbon emissions and make a contribution to the fight against climate change.

These are the big projects but we can also try to do things at a local or personal level. I have recently organised coffee mornings for constituents that are based on providing information and support on how to be fuel efficient. There are huge benefits in our own home from such action – it makes them warmer, saves money and doesn’t waste our limited fuel resources. There are a number of schemes which can help with better insulation for homes, especially if the occupants are pensioners. I am shortly due to hold an event with British Gas whose representatives will be able to pass on fuel efficiency ideas as well as helping people sort out their individual account problems. The G20 is about governments working together to get the best from the people and the resources on this planet. At our own personal level, we can play our part too.