"DMcG whilst I agree that in many respects knowing the way your MP voted is important my main reason for going for secret votes is so that the MP can vote the way his concious dictates and not because the party boss want him to vote thereby taking power away from the party and giving it to the MP. Personally I'd love to get rid of political parties and just have independents elected but I can't see anyway in which it would work as political groupings would naturally form."

Secret voting vs accountability: the voting system should be such that an MP's vote remains secret at the time of voting but will afterwards (once the result has been decided) be on record, so how each MP voted will be available for inspection by everyone.

There will then be no pressure on MPs at the time of the vote, to vote against their conscience or their constituents' wishes, just because the party leader (or whoever) votes the opposite way. But afterwards, everyone will be able to see which way they voted.

Use of electronic pads which MPs could vote on and keep their vote secret from their colleagues if they wish, should be possible. Of course they may not need to keep it secret every time, if they're happy for everyone to know. But they will have the option, which is the main thing.

Getting rid of political parties: as I said above, I'd like to see political parties abolished and made illegal, so that belonging to one would be punishable by expulsion and a jail sentence. Whips would therefore not exist. Parties would probably still exist but they would be driven underground. There would be no need for parties to indulge in dodgy fund raising practices such as flogging peerages, as there would be no party advertising needed. Each election would be between individuals with their own policies, not dictated by some twat in Whitehall.

Yes, there would be people who have the same views on each issue, who would group together, but only on that issue. They may differ about other issues and would group with different people for each one. The present system means a party member has to accept all the views of his leader (more or less). Without parties, each MP would be free to vote on each issue and you would get a more representative decision.