John Leonard, an IT consultant, argues here that those wanting to reduce the size of the House of Commons will only be punishing the electorate for MPs' misdeeds. Parliamentary reform can only take place, he asserts, when the power to control Parliament and the political system is taken away from MPs.
I have previously written articles defending the size of Parliament when those of the ‘Westminster Politerati’ have proposed reductions here and here. The latest call for a reduction (the most radical so far) came from the Telegraph's Iain Martin, subsequently supported by The Spectator's Peter Hoskin.
And the latest ConservativeHome members' survey found yesterday that 58% backed a reduction in the size of the Commons from 650 to 500.
Now I have great sympathy for their desire to reform our wayward Parliament, but reducing the number of MPs is simply wrong headed.