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Category: Parliament

  • Angela Rayner – 2021 Comments on Government Breaking Lobbying Rules

    Angela Rayner – 2021 Comments on Government Breaking Lobbying Rules

    The comments made by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, on 26 November 2021.

    By letting Hammond off the hook, the Government has muzzled its own watchdog. Even when their own hand-picked anti-corruption tsar, a former Tory Cabinet Minister, asks them to take action over a flagrant breach of the rules they have outright refused.

    This is just the latest evidence that Boris Johnson will not tackle the corruption that has engulfed his Government and the Conservative Party. Instead of enforcing the rules he breaks the rules himself, tries to change the rules and defends senior Conservatives who break the rules.

    The system is completely broken and this Government will not close the revolving door between public office and cushy lobbying gigs.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2021 Statement on Babies in Parliament

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2021 Statement on Babies in Parliament

    The statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, on 24 November 2021.

    Before we start today’s business, I want to say something about the presence of babies and very young children in this Chamber and the parallel Chamber, Westminster Hall.

    It is extremely important that parents of babies and young children are able to participate fully in the work of this House. That is why, to give one example, we have a nursery. The advice given yesterday to the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy) on the authority of the Chairman of Ways and Means, of which I was not aware until last night, correctly reflects the current rules. However, rules have to be seen in context and they change with the times.

    This House has to be able to function professionally and without disturbance. However, sometimes there may be occasions when the Chair can exercise discretion, assuming that the business is not being disturbed. I accept that there are differing views on this matter. Indeed, hon. Members who have babies have contacted me with a range of views.

    There are also likely to be some consequential matters. Therefore, I have asked the Chair of the Procedure Committee, the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Karen Bradley), if she and her Committee will look into this matter and bring forward recommendations, which will ultimately be for the House to take a view on.

    Thank you. I am taking no points of order on this.

  • Matt Kelly – 2021 Statement about the Conduct of Jack Doyle

    Matt Kelly – 2021 Statement about the Conduct of Jack Doyle

    The statement made by Matt Kelly, the Editor-in-Chief of the New European, on 19 November 2021.

    I was called last night (Thursday) at 10.30pm by a man who identified himself as being from Downing Street Communications office, but whose name I didn’t catch. His opening gambit was: Boris Johnson is going to sue The New European for defamation.

    I won’t go into the rest of the conversation in detail, but suffice to say I made it clear to him that this was not a threat that troubled me greatly and we stood by our story.

    After a few minutes, the caller eventually told me: ‘You just crack on then mate’ and put the phone down.

    I texted him, asking him to repeat his threat of legal action and to send across the Downing Street denial. I also asked him – twice – to identify himself, which he refused to do.

    For a public official to cold-call a newspaper and threaten them with a law suit from a sitting PM, and not to even identify himself, was, I thought, odd. I tried the Downing Street press office to verify the caller’s identity, but they didn’t come back to me. I went to bed.

    The next morning, I established that the phone number of the caller belonged to Jack Doyle, the Downing Street Director of Communications.

    I now understand Downing Street denies they threatened legal action, to which all I can say is I stand by our story, and our story about the story. If Boris Johnson changes his mind again and decides to sue, we’ll see him in court.

    Should the veracity of this account be challenged, I do, of course, have the texts.

  • Boris Johnson – 2021 Letter to Speaker of the House of Commons on Parliamentary Standards

    Boris Johnson – 2021 Letter to Speaker of the House of Commons on Parliamentary Standards

    The letter sent by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, to Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, on 16 November 2021.

    Text of letter (in .pdf format)

  • Angela Rayner – 2021 Comments on the Personal Conduct of Michael Gove and David Meller

    Angela Rayner – 2021 Comments on the Personal Conduct of Michael Gove and David Meller

    The comments made by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, on 16 November 2021.

    It shows just how engulfed in corruption this government is that the Minister in charge of procurement and ensuring that contracts are awarded to the best bidder and represent value for money for the taxpayer was helping his own donor to get VIP fast-track access to contracts.

    Michael Gove stood up in Parliament and said that all contracts were awarded through the same process. He must have known that wasn’t true when he said it because he had already helped his mate gets tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.

    It is time this corrupt government published the full details of every PPE and testing contract awarded to companies with links to the Conservative Party, Conservative Ministers and Conservative MPs so we can get to the bottom of the lobbying, dodgy deals and special favours that have been done using taxpayers’ money like a get-rich-quick scheme for Conservative donors and mates.

  • Angela Rayner – 2021 Comments on the Personal Conduct of Iain Duncan Smith

    Angela Rayner – 2021 Comments on the Personal Conduct of Iain Duncan Smith

    The comments made by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, on 9 November 2021.

    The prime minister needs to explain why he think it is justified for one of his MPs to be paid by a company that stands to benefit from a recommendation of a taskforce chaired by that same MP. This is exactly the kind of brazen conflict of interest that proves that the Conservatives think it is one rule for them and another for the rest of us.

  • Chloe Smith – 2021 Apology Over Owen Paterson Vote

    Chloe Smith – 2021 Apology Over Owen Paterson Vote

    The comments made by Chloe Smith, the MP for Norwich North, on 9 November 2021.

    I am always prepared to justify my votes in Parliament and to be accountable to constituents for those. That is fundamental in this job. In this case, I recognise I got it wrong.

    I voted for the Leadsom amendment to the motion because I believe it contained some sensible points.

    It was designed to improve our standards system. I don’t think anyone thinks the current system is perfect, and there are some serious questions which need to be discussed.

    For example, under the present disciplinary system, the accused party has no right of appeal and few rights when it comes to presenting witnesses or other supporting evidence.

    However, reforms to the process should not be tied to a vote on a single case. Or, indeed, applied retrospectively. MPs should hold themselves to the highest standards in public life and must accept a rule book.

    The government recognises this too, and that they made a mistake.

  • Lindsay Hoyle – 2021 Statement on Owen Paterson Controversy

    Lindsay Hoyle – 2021 Statement on Owen Paterson Controversy

    The text of the statement made by Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in the House on 8 November 2021.

    From time to time, we talk about the House being at its best. I regret to say that I do not think that the House has been at its best in the way in which it has handled standards issues over the past week. I would like to make a few points about where we are now and where we might get to if we can approach the issue in a genuinely constructive and non-partisan spirit.

    In my role as Speaker, I am required to maintain strict impartiality. That includes, for example, responsibility for giving the House the opportunity to consider orderly amendments that attract considerable support, whatever my own view of them may be. But I also feel a weighty responsibility to ensure that the House deals with these issues effectively and fairly, and that its reputation reflects that.

    One issue is clear. Owen Paterson has resigned as an MP, so it no longer falls to the House to decide whether he should be suspended, although I note that the House has not reached a decision on the report of the Select Committee on Standards. I understand that the Committee is nearing the end of its review of the code of conduct. After that report has been published, there may be some way of working with the Committee to build on its work.

    On Thursday, the Leader of the House indicated that he believed that there was cross-party support for reform of the standards process, and particularly for looking at a mechanism for appeals. He also said that

    “a Committee cannot work effectively without Opposition Members on it”.—[Official Report, 4 November 2021; Vol. 702, c. 1056.]

    I agree. If the House wishes to review the system, it must do so on a cross-party basis. Opposition parties have made it clear that they will not participate in the Committee established on Thursday. We therefore need to find a different way forward. I would also expect the Chair of the Committee on Standards to be invited to have a role in any process, given the extensive work that his Committee has already undertaken.

    In finding that way forward, I want to remind the House of two things. First, I repeat what I have said before about the importance of not criticising officials in this House who are not able to respond. Of course it is possible to make proposals to improve processes and practices, but please do not criticise the Commissioner for Standards, who is doing a job that we have appointed her to do. Secondly, I know that there have been concerns about what recent events mean for the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme. Let me be clear: the decision taken last Wednesday did not in any way affect the operation of the ICGS or that of the Independent Expert Panel. Let me say to those people who feel that they are not going to come forward because the ICGS will not be there that it is there: do not think that there is a barrier to people coming forward.

    Finally, and again in a spirit of finding the best way forward, I say to the House that I will do everything I can to help to ensure that all Members feel confident that we have an effective and fair system, and that those who follow our proceedings feel the same.

    I granted the debate today because I thought it was essential to sort out the mess that we are in. We can start to do that today, but it requires two things: for us all to tone down the party political sniping and focus calmly on making sure the system is as effective as it can be, and for everyone to recognise that, if we are going to achieve progress, we will only do so on a cross-party basis. I also want to remind the House that it is not in order to make allegations of impropriety against other named Members, unless the House is considering a substantive motion dealing with the issue directly. There are other routes for raising such claims. So please, use the routes that are available.

    I sincerely hope that all Members will take the approach I have recommended, and that by the end of this debate we will have a clearer sense of how we can move forward together on this important subject. Please, let us see the House at its best, as we have certainly seen it at its worst.

  • Anneliese Dodds – 2021 Comments on Donations and Peerages

    Anneliese Dodds – 2021 Comments on Donations and Peerages

    The comments made by Anneliese Dodds, the Chair of the Labour Party, on 6 November 2021.

    It’s now clear that the cash for access culture at the heart of this Conservative government stems from the top and reaches through every sinew of the Prime Minister’s party.

    This stench of sleaze emanating from Boris Johnson’s government grows by the day, with even a former Conservative prime minister calling his administration ‘politically corrupt’.

    Labour would stamp out sleaze, with a tougher system to restore the public’s faith in our democracy and political system.

  • Angela Rayner – 2021 Comments on Need for Sleaze Inquiry

    Angela Rayner – 2021 Comments on Need for Sleaze Inquiry

    The comments made by Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, on 5 November 2021.

    This week the Prime Minister’s corruption was clear for all to see when he tried to over-ride the Commissioner who is set to investigate him for breaking the rules and replace an independent cross-party committee with a sham group of Conservative stooges who would do his bidding.

    Boris Johnson’s attempt to make Conservative MPs judge and jury over allegations of corruption and rule-breaking was a blatant attempt to prevent the Commissioner from investigating his latest breaches of the rules.

    The events of the past few days are an attack on our democracy and have undermined the integrity of public office and our public life. It is absolutely vital that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is now able to conduct this investigation without any further attempts by the Prime Minister to block this investigation, over-ride or abolish the Commissioner or the Standards Committee and the bullying, threats and intimidation from Conservative Ministers must stop immediately.

    It can’t be one rule for Boris Johnson and another for the rest of us, and our corrupt and sleazy Prime Minister must be held to account just like anybody else would be if they broke the rules.