Cub Scouts, 8-10 year olds, have been banned from protesting in the House of Commons – because they aren’t old enough to vote. The Cubs (and the rest of the Scout Movement) want to protest against the rain tax which threatens to severely curtail the activities of many groups as it cripples them financially.

Which annoys me is the fact that MPs are always saying how they want to listen to the “yoofs” – but whenever they have the chance, they never do so. Martin Slater hit the nail on the head when he said:

All constituents, regardless of age, should be free to lobby their MPs.

They should indeed. They may not be able to vote yet, but they will do in the future. If they have a message that they want to get across to their elected representatives – after all, MPs are still their representatives, even if they cannot directly vote them in. Yet.

The job of MPs is to listen to the people, whatever age they may be. And to encourage everyone to get involved in the political process. These Cubs want to get involved and make their voice heard. MPs should be enocuraging them, not denying them that chance.

If John Bercow does not overturn this ban, he will have failed his first real test as Speaker. And he will have encouraged the demise of democracy in this country.