Parliament votes on corruption

Parliament votes on corruption

Parliament votes on corruption

By Ian Dunt

MPs will vote on an opposition day motion today which seeks to reform parliament following the cash-for-amendments scandal and Derek Conway’s breach of parliamentary standards.

To read comment on parliamentary reform click here.

To read analysis of parliamentary reform click here.

The motion, put forward by the Liberal Democrats, calls for a series of reforms – some of which are new and some of which are already moving at a snail’s pace through the legislative process.

David Heath, Lib Dem leader of the House, said: “This last week has been yet another troubled one for the reputation of parliament and for politics in general.

“It is absolutely clear that we need to look for fundamental reform of both Houses of Parliament to make them fit for purpose and free from the taint of sleaze.”

The motion reads: “This House believes that the United Kingdom needs and deserves a parliament that is fit for purpose and free from the taint of partial interests.”

The Liberal Democrats are calling for new powers in the Lords to suspend or expel members.

Parliamentary historians are currently unsure of exactly what sanctions the peers who spoke to the Sunday Times journalists will face if they are categorically shown to have been willing to take cash in exchange for making the amendments.

Police, who are currently inquiring as to whether to hold an investigation, are not generally expected to pursue the matter. But video and audio files of the peers in negotiation released by the Sunday Times make their positions all-but untenable.

Liberal Democrats also want rules to make sure all peers sitting in the second chamber are resident in the UK for tax purposes – a point made by party leader Nick Clegg during last week’s prime minister’s questions.

The motion calls for members of both Houses to be brought into the remit of the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Sir John Lyon.

Sir John has currently had his work cut out for him with ruling against Peter Hain for donations to his deputy leadership bid and Mr Conway, who was asked to pay back to parliament some of the money he had paid his son Henry for office work.

He is now considering calls from Tory MP Ben Wallace to investigate a donation to justice secretary Jack Straw’s constituency office from Westminster International Consultants.

There are also calls for the system of parliamentary passes to be tightened up. Peers have been found giving the passes to lobbyist rather than the researchers they were designed for.

There are also demands on legislation currently being formulated by the government, including Lords reform, which has undergone several white papers without seeing any action.

On a broader spectrum, the Liberal Democrats also want action on party donations, an issue which seems to have faded away since the furore over cash-for-peerages failed to end in any charges.

But political analysts warn the current status quo cannot continue, with Labour’s union funding, and the Tories’ reliance on a handful of rich donors viewed as less than satisfactory.

Opposition motions are not binding on government but they have a severe political effect if they go against the governing party.

Last week’s opposition day motion on Heathrow – which saw a surprisingly high level of Labour rebellion – led to the prime minister calling a selection of backbench MPs into his office so he could try to convince them to vote with the government.