We are facing a complete break down in trust in our political system and those who are elected to represent us. For years I have heard people say that politicians are all in it for themselves and have always challenged them, emphasising that the majority of politicians are there to serve their community. Though this is still true, now no one will listen.

The expenses scandal has unleashed public anger in a way that all the other scandals about party funding and the abuse of power have not. We have now had the Speaker forced out and the acceptance that parliament cannot decide its own expenses and pay. Much of the media coverage has focused on Michael Martin being the first Speaker in 300 years to be forced to resign but this misses the bigger issue. A parliament that has long proclaimed itself sovereign has accepted that it can no longer make or police its own rules. The long-lived but now decrepit principle of parliamentary sovereignty is dead; it just needs to be given a decent funeral.

This crisis goes way beyond simply MPs’ expenses. At the same time as this onslaught we have had two Lords suspended from the House of Lords for taking money to influence legislation, a long series of donations scandals going back 12 years, as well as dodgy dossiers and the misinformation that surrounded the decision to invade Iraq. This all screams a Constitution and political system that is no longer fit for purpose.

Let’s be clear; MPs, Peers and the whole of government work for us. They are our servants. It is whole nature of our political system and constitution that needs to change. It is the fact that parliament believed itself to be sovereign and could make and change the rules as it liked, that allowed this sleazy expenses regime to endure and flourish.

However dramatic the events of the last few days are we will not rebuild trust by simply reforming MPs’ pay and expenses. If that is all that happens then there will be other scandals either about the Lords or donations to political parties or something completely new. With each new revelation or scandal, cynicism and alienation become more ingrained in our political culture. We will truly enter the age of Paxman where everyone asks “why is that lying xxx lying to me”.

So what needs to happen now? We need to complete the Constitutional journey that Labour started in 1997 and fundamentally reform our political system. This must include the decentralisation of power, reform both Houses of Parliament and strengthening the accountability of decision makers to us the people.

There are many ways that we can strengthen citizens control over our representatives but the best way is through the ballot box. Our existing electoral system for Westminster and in Great Britain for Europe makes it very difficult to get rid of MPs. Many of them, in effect, have jobs for life and face very little real competition. They can easily take us the voters for granted. Labour promised a referendum on electoral reform in 1997 and did not deliver when the benefits of the present system became all too apparent. We need a referendum at the time of the next election to change the electoral system.

But we need to go further and establish a Constitutional Convention, involving ordinary people, to draw up a new constitutional settlement and a written constitution that can rebuild trust and strengthen the power of voters rather than our would be masters in the Westminster Village. Only then will we truly be citizens rather than subjects.