Recall of MPs Bill

John Bercow Excerpts

Monday 24th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge) (LD)]

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

[Mr Speaker]

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 3—Recall condition: consideration by election court—

‘(1) This section applies when a petition alleging conduct by an MP which constitutes misconduct in the office of member of parliament has been received by an election court as properly presented under section (The third recall condition: method of petitioning an election court).

(2) The court may consider such conduct wherever it is committed, and whether or not it is committed directly in carrying out the office of member of parliament.

(3) The court must examine evidence adduced of misconduct, and any evidence produced in rebuttal by the MP.

(4) The court must consider whether, on the basis of such evidence, it is reasonable to believe that the MP has misconducted himself or herself, to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in the MP, without reasonable excuse or justification.

(5) If the court considers, on the basis of such evidence, that the allegation of misconduct is—

(a) not supported by the evidence; or

(b) trivial or vexatious in nature; or

(c) brought for party political purposes;

then the court must dismiss the petition.

(6) If the decision of the court is that the alleged behaviour is such as to satisfy subsection (4), then it must notify The Speaker that it has so determined.

(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting any provision of the Bill of Rights 1689.’

This new Clause establishes the process by which constituents’ allegations of improper behaviour by an MP may be considered and adjudged. It provides for fair and due process and seeks to avoid conflict with the provisions of the Bill of Rights.

New clause 4—MP’s pledge—

‘(1) Each MP shall at the start of each Parliament subscribe to the Pledge set out in this section.

(2) An MP subscribing to the Pledge may do so—

(a) in writing; or

(b) in person at the same time as taking the Oath required by the Parliamentary Oaths Act 1866.

(3) The Pledge shall be—

“I solemnly undertake that, in the course of my duties as a Member of Parliament and service to my constituency, I shall act in adherence with the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament and uphold the standards of public life with selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.”’

New clause 5—Complaint of breach of MP’s pledge—

‘(1) This section applies when persons complain that an MP has acted in a way that represents a significant breach of the MP’s Pledge as set out in section (MP’s Pledge).

(2) A petition containing a complaint under subsection (1) may be presented to the electoral court if signed by at least five hundred persons on the electoral roll within the constituency of the MP named in the petition.

(3) The Secretary of State may by regulation prescribe—

(a) the form, content and process relating to the submission of such petitions; and

(b) the manner of constitution of an electoral court to adjudicate.

(4) The electoral court must examine evidence submitted of the alleged breach of the MP’s Pledge, and any evidence produced in rebuttal by the MP.

(5) The court must consider whether, on the balance of evidence, it is reasonable to believe that the MP has acted in a way that amounts to a significant breach of the MP’s Pledge, without reasonable excuse or justification.

(6) If the court finds in favour of the petitioners, then it must notify the Speaker, and the MP named in the petition, that it has so determined.

(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting any provision of the Bill of Rights 1689.”’

Amendment 1, in clause 1, page 1, line 4, leave out “the first or second” and insert “a”.

This amendment provides for a further recall condition but is neutral if no such condition or conditions are agreed to.

Amendment 14, page 1, line 18, leave out subsection (4) and insert—

‘(4) The second recall condition is that, following on from a report from the Committee on Standards, the House of Commons order the suspension of the MP from the service of the House for a specified period of requisite length.

(4A) A specified period is of requisite length for the purposes of subsection (4) if—

(a) where the period is expressed as a number of sitting days, the period specified is of at least 10 sitting days, or

(b) in any other case, the period specified (however expressed) is a period of at least 14 days.’

Amendment 2, page 2, line 9, at end insert—

‘( ) A further recall condition (misconduct in the office of member of parliament) is that—

(a) an election court has considered a petition claiming that the MP has committed an act which constitutes misconduct in the office of member of parliament; and

(b) the court has determined, prima facie, that it is reasonable to believe such an act may have been committed; and

(c) the court has notified The Speaker of its decision under subsection (b).’

This amendment provides for a further recall condition.

Amendment 15, page 2, line 9, at end insert—

‘( ) A further recall condition (misconduct in public office) is that—

(a) the MP has, after becoming an MP, been convicted of the common law offence of misconduct in public office, and

(b) the appeal period expires without the conviction having been overturned on appeal.

Sections 2 to 4 contain more about this recall condition.’

This amendment provides for a further recall condition.

Amendment 24, page 2, line 9, at end insert—

‘( ) A further recall condition (section 10) is that—

(a) the MP has, after becoming an MP, been convicted of an offence under section 10 of the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 (offence of providing false or misleading information for allowances claims);

(b) the appeal period expires without the conviction having been overturned on appeal.

Sections 2 to 4 contain more about this recall condition.’

This amendment provides for a further recall condition.

Amendment 34, page 2, line 9, at end insert—

‘( ) A further recall condition is that the MP has been adjudged by an election court (as set out in section (Complaint of breach of MP’s Pledge)) to have acted in a way that is contrary to the MP’s Pledge as set out in section (MP’s Pledge)’.

This amendment provides for a further recall condition.

Amendment 16, in clause 2, page 2, line 18, leave out “The reference in” and insert “In”.

This amendment and amendment 17 ensure that a recall petition may be triggered by an offence committed before the day Clause 1 comes into force where an MP is convicted of the offence on or after that day and after he or she last became an MP.

Amendment 25, page 2, line 18, leave out “(the first recall condition)” and insert

“and ( ) (the first and section 10 recall conditions)”.

This amendment ensures that the provision made in Clause 2 in relation to the first recall condition regarding offences committed before, and convictions on or after, the commencement of Clause 1 also applies to the section 10 recall condition.

Amendment 17, page 2, line 18, leave out from “to an offence” to the end of the subsection and insert—

‘(a) the reference to an offence includes an offence committed before the MP became an MP and an offence committed before the day on which section 1 comes into force, but

(b) the reference to an MP being convicted of an offence is only to an MP being convicted of an offence on or after that day.’

Amendment 26, page 2, line 21, at end insert—

‘( ) The reference in section 1(3) to an offence does not include an offence mentioned in section 1(5A).’

Amendment 27, in clause 3, page 2, line 43, leave out “(the first recall condition)” and insert “and (5A) (the first and section 10 recall conditions)”.

Amendment 28, page 3, line 3, leave out subsections (2) to (4) and insert—

‘( ) “Relevant appeal”, in relation to the first recall condition, means—

(a) an appeal that—

(i) is in respect of the conviction, sentence or order mentioned in section 1(3), and

(ii) is brought within the usual period, or

(b) an appeal that—

(i) is in respect of the determination of an appeal that was itself a relevant appeal, and

(ii) is brought within the usual period.

( ) “Relevant appeal”, in relation to the section 10 recall condition, means—

(a) an appeal that—

(i) is in respect of the conviction mentioned in section 1(5A) or of any sentence or order imposed in relation to that conviction, and

(ii) is brought within the usual period, or

(b) an appeal that—

(i) is in respect of the determination of an appeal that was itself a relevant appeal, and

(ii) is brought within the usual period.’

Amendment 29, in clause 4, page 3, line 34, after second “MP” insert—

‘(a) ‘.

Amendment 30, page 3, line 36, at end insert

‘, or

(b) is convicted of an offence mentioned in section 1( ) (relating to the section 10 recall condition) within the meaning of that provision (see section 2).’

Amendment 31, page 3, line 37, after “order”, insert “in relation to the conviction”.

Amendment 32, page 4, line 4, leave out paragraph (b) and insert—

‘(b) that—

(i) in a case within subsection (1)(a), the conviction, sentence or order has, or has not, been overturned on appeal;

(ii) in a case within subsection (1)(b), the conviction has, or has not, been overturned on appeal, and’.

Amendment 3, in clause 5, page 4, line 16, leave out “the first or second” and insert “a”.

This amendment provides for a further recall condition.

Amendment 18, page 4, line 16, leave out “or second” and insert “, second or section 10”.

This amendment is consequential to the agreement to the section 10 recall condition.

Amendment 19, page 4, line 43, after “first”, insert “or section 10”.

Amendment 4, in clause 9, page 6, line 36, after “10 per cent.”, insert

‘in a case in which either the first or second recall conditions have been met, and 15 per cent. in a case in which the misconduct in the office of member of parliament recall condition has been met’.

Amendment 5, page 6, line 38, after “10 per cent.”, insert

‘in a case in which either the first or second recall conditions have been met, and 15 per cent. in a case in which the misconduct in the office of member of parliament recall condition has been met’.

This amendment increases the support required for a valid misconduct in the office of member of parliament recall petition, following the steps proposed in New Clauses (method of petitioning an election court) and (consideration by election court), due to the “reasonable to believe” test to be used by the election court.

Amendment 20, in clause 13, page 9, line 10, at end insert—

‘( ) The fourth condition is that, in a case in which the section 10 recall condition was met in relation to the MP, the conviction in question is overturned on appeal.’

Amendment 6, page 9, line 10, at end insert—

‘( ) The fourth condition is that, in a case in which a misconduct recall condition was met in relation to the MP, the MP is subsequently charged with an offence, the penalty for which may be imprisonment or an order to be imprisoned or detained, for the conduct, or any part of the conduct, stated in the petition to the electoral court.’

This amendment seeks to reduce the risk of double jeopardy.

Amendment 21, page 9, line 13, leave out “three”.

Amendment 7, in clause 14, page 9, line 41, leave out “at least 10 per cent of the number of eligible registered electors” and insert—

‘(a) in a case in which either the first or second recall condition is met, at least 10 per cent. of the number of eligible electors; and

(b) in a case in which the [misconduct in the office of Member of Parliament] recall condition is met, at least 15 per cent. of the number of eligible electors.’

This amendment increases the support required for a valid (misconduct in the office of Member of Parliament) recall petition, following the steps proposed in New Clauses (method of petitioning an election court) and (consideration by election court), due to the “reasonable to believe” test to be used by the election court.

Amendment 8, in clause 22, page 14, line 29, at end insert—

‘“misconduct in the office of Member of Parliament” means conduct by an MP, whether or not it is committed directly in carrying out the office of member of parliament, which is misconduct to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in the MP, without reasonable excuse or justification.’

This amendment establishes an offence of improper behaviour on the part of an MP, using the definition of the English common law offence “misconduct in public office” as its starting point.

Amendment 22, page 14, line 33, after ‘appeal”’, insert

‘, in relation to the first recall condition,’.

[Dr Huppert]

May I apologise to the House for the absence of my hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr Heath)—not yet a right hon. Member, despite the praise that was heaped on him in Committee—who is currently acting as our trade envoy in Africa and is unable to be here? My apology is that Members will have to put up with me arguing the case, rather than him.

This is an important Bill. It delivers on the manifesto commitments of most of the parties in this House in some way or another. It means that it will be possible for MPs who are sent to prison to be recalled, no matter how long they are in prison, and that MPs who are suspended by this House for long enough may also be subject to recall.

However, the Bill has rightly been criticised for allowing MPs to mark their own homework, as it were. Unless there is a jail sentence—a threshold that was not mentioned in the manifesto commitments of any party in this House—it is ultimately us who will have to decide whether someone has behaved so badly that they should be subject to recall.

The hon. Member for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith) —it is good to see him in his place—proposed one solution to that problem in Committee, but many of us felt that it would have caused more problems than it solved. There was a concern that it might lead to trivial or vexatious complaints, or complaints based on political or policy differences, rather than complaints about genuine misconduct. There was extensive debate about that in Committee.

My hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome and I proposed another route, by which a court would assess whether there were grounds reasonably to believe that an MP could have committed a common law offence of misconduct in public office. If there were, that would lead to the same recall process as the Government have described for those who are suspended or sentenced to jail. That amendment was tricky to write. We were clear in Committee that there were technical challenges in writing it. We therefore did not press it to a vote at that time.

We were encouraged by the cross-party support for our proposal. For example, the Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Stephen Twigg), said that he was drawn to our ideas and that:

“In principle, giving the power to the people to bring a case against their MP before the election court is a good idea.”—[Official Report, 27 October 2014; Vol. 587, c. 134.]

The hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty) said that our proposals

“have appeal because they enable a public trigger that is still based around wrongdoing.”—[Official Report, 27 October 2014; Vol. 587, c. 77.]

It is good to see both Opposition spokesmen here.

We also had support from the Government. The Minister of State, Cabinet Office, the right hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark), said that he had

“a great deal of sympathy with the thinking behind the amendments”. —[Official Report, 27 October 2014; Vol. 587, c. 98.]

The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr Gyimah), praised it as an “interesting idea” that should be returned to on Report. That is what we are doing now.

I had hoped that the Government would take over the work of doing the drafting and that we would now be looking at Government amendments that had all the benefit of parliamentary counsel’s detailed advice. Sadly, that is not the case. Indeed, it is striking that not a single Government amendment has been tabled for debate today—not even those of a technical nature to fix the errors that were highlighted in Committee.