Lords criticise parliamentary standards bill fast-tracking
Monday, 6 July 2009 12:00 AM
By Liz Stephens
The House of Lords constitution committee criticised the government's approach to the parliamentary standards bill today.
A bill with such constitutionally important elements should not be "fast-tracked" through the legislative process, the committee said.
It warned that rushing the bill through parliament of the "cobbled together bill" prevented "proper examination ..of legally and constitutionally complex questions".
They also claimed the bill was the product of a desire "simply to see something done" rather than the outcome of a suitable law making process.
Of particular concern to the committee was the establishment of a statutory external regulator for parliament in the bill.
This will break the convention that parliament regulates its own affairs, a profound change which could create conflicts between parliament and the courts, said the Lords.
Lord Goodlad, chairman of the committee, said: "The parliamentary standards bill is a significant piece of legislation which raises complex constitutional matters. We think rushing the bill through parliament is unacceptable.
"If the aim of the bill is to restore public confidence in parliament and show that it is listening to legitimate public concerns it seems odd to do that with a bill that has not undergone any sort of consultation process," he said.
The committee report also described the prime minister's decision to first announce proposals to reform the House of Commons expenses regime on YouTube as "constitutionally unorthodox".
The prime minister was previously criticised for his YouTube appearances by Hazel Blears, shortly before she quit the cabinet on the eve of the European elections.
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