Parliament disgraced itself so thoroughly with the expenses scandal last year that its rehabilitation was certain to be long and difficult. There are, however, encouraging signs that the process is under way. The phone-hacking scandal has been pivotal. The humbling of News International lifted an implicit threat of media retribution against MPs who might speak out against Rupert Murdoch's imperious influence on public life. The grilling of Mr Murdoch and his son by the Commons select committee on culture, media and sport was a symbolic rediscovery of independent voice.

The Commons has also been restored, to some extent, to its historical role as an arena for high political drama. Clashes over the economy between the Chancellor, George Osborne, and Ed Balls, his shadow, have rivalled those between the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition. The recent debate on abortion was a set piece of parliamentary theatre. The Speaker, John Bercow, is not short of critics, but he is committed to making parliament more effective and more relevant to voters.

The vital ingredient, however, was the arrival last year of 227 new MPs, the biggest rookie intake since 1997. Our feature, starting on page 28, profiles some of the youngest and brightest of the bunch. Among them are sure to be future ministers and even prime ministers. So far, the 2010 generation has shown itself to be independent-minded and politically precocious, with a reassuring tendency to defy the whips. Shadow ministers on the Labour front bench are especially pleased with the calibre of their new recruits. Names such as Rachel Reeves, Chuka Umunna and Stella Creasy are often cited as future stars.

The Conservative back benches have been similarly replenished, and the new Tories have already demonstrated an appetite for rebellion. The scale of rejuvenation should not be overstated. Politics is still stuffed with career technocrats - former special advisers with little experience outside Westminster. The demography of the House is still predominantly Oxbridge-educated, white and male. But parliament can find a trajectory towards greater richness of character and independence from government.

For that reason, it is a shame that the coalition is committed to an arbitrary cull of seats before the next election. On 13 September, the Boundary Commission published its provisional plans for a redrawn electoral map, reducing the number of constituencies from 650 to 600. The ostensible purpose is to make the number of electors in each seat more equal. The actual reason the government has undertaken this task is to correct what Conservatives see as an inbuilt Labour bias in the system.

The scale - indeed, the existence - of that advantage is much disputed, yet even if it determines the outcome of elections the remedy bears little relation to the problem. Fifty is an arbitrary number of MPs to drop. There is no equivalent reduction in the number of ministerial posts, so the payroll vote - the number of MPs obliged to support the government by virtue of holding official jobs - is proportionally greater.

If the Conservatives were seriously committed to reviving democracy by changes to parliament, they would not have increased the numbers of lords, creating 58 peers since the election. There is no modernisation or renewal to be had by snuffing out elected representation and replacing it with patronage. Meanwhile, the redemarcation of hundreds of new constituencies will prompt MPs to dedicate hours of their time to finding safer places to stand next time. They must woo the handful of activists who decide selection. That is a needless distraction from MPs' proper duties.

But at least MPs from all parties are upset by the changes, which will do wonders for their sense of pugnacious independence. There is no predicting how the 2010 intake will react in most situations, which is reason alone for optimism about parliament's capacity to fulfil more credibly its status as the seat of sovereignty in the United Kingdom.