Recall of MPs Bill

May I apologise to the House for the absence of my hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome ...

My hon. Friend has managed to shower his proposal with praise from a number of people. May I demu...

I am wary of straying into the debate we had in Committee because there was a huge amount of disc...

The hon. Gentleman is speaking about extending the scope of recall. I declare an interest as a la...

I am not a lawyer; I dropped out of studying law after my first year because my exams coincided w...

I am sure that my hon. Friend knows that the House, when in Committee, was sympathetic to the vie...

The wording is exactly the wording there would be for misconduct. First, that offence does not ex...

Drawing on the previous intervention and my point about litigation, does this not then become a s...

We have put in provisions so that, in the event of criminal proceedings, they would take preceden...

The hon. Gentleman touches on non-attendance. Labour Members supported the House of Lords Reform ...

First, just because somebody can be recalled does not mean they would automatically be recalled. ...

rose—

That may be addressed by the proposals from the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan), who I suspec...

What would be the hon. Gentleman’s guarantee that nobody’s constituents in Northern Ireland would...

I would certainly give no guarantee of that kind. It is important to say that the proposals we ar...

New clause 3(7) reads:

“Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting any provisi...

As ever, the hon. Gentleman makes a very interesting point, but the new clause does not suggest c...

How does the hon. Gentleman answer the criticism that the whole point of recall is to give power ...

It still starts with 500 people and ends with 15% of the public making the decision. We have to s...

It has been brought to my attention that earlier today the hon. Gentleman published an article on...

I will have to check the wording of the article—[Interruption.] Sorry, I am not challenging the h...

Before my hon. Friend moves on to other amendments, I would find it helpful if he explained wheth...

I think the right hon. Gentleman’s point is answered by amendment 8, which has a fuller definitio...

The hon. Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert) has already touched on new clauses 4 and 5, which stan...

I apologise for not being in my place at the start of the debate, but I am very interested in thi...

I take the hon. Lady’s point, but if she looks at the new clause, she will see that an MP subscri...

I am most grateful to the hon. Member for allowing me to intervene a second time. I understood th...

I have not gone as far as that; it could mean a further sanction that if people do not take the p...

I agree that it would be better for the decision to be made by the electorate—by the court—but is...

I accept the hon. Gentleman’s point, but it can be legal up to a point; there could be some matte...

It is worth taking stock of where we are. The Government’s Bill still has no friends in its curre...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the fundamental flaw in the Recall of MPs Bill is that it does not...

Exactly right. This is not recall as it is understood anywhere in the world.

The shadow Min...

May I clarify the amendment? It specifically excludes those Members who have been named by the Sp...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that clarification. It changes nothing at all. I am reass...

The hon. Gentleman said that a mistake, even an honest one, will not suffice. Does he actually th...

The hon. Gentleman knows my arguments concerning recall. I am deliberately trying not to rehearse...

Did the hon. Gentleman notify my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Mr Sanders) that he would men...

No, I did not. I was not aware that I was supposed to. Perhaps I will be recalled under the new m...

The point has been made. Normally, it is good practice to let people know if you are going to nam...

I do apologise, Mr Deputy Speaker; it is not a convention that I was aware of, and it certainly w...

Does my hon. Friend agree that recent news has highlighted the public’s distaste for a political ...

I could not agree more strongly, and I welcome my hon. Friend’s intervention.

Change is ine...

rose—

I was about to finish, but I will give way to the hon. Gentleman.

Notwithstanding the hon. Gentleman’s acceptance of the vote last time, will he clarify whether it...

I am happy to answer that question. I do not want to sound self-important, but it is my intention...

I want to set out Labour’s position on the principle of recall and the reasoning behind the amend...

The other point the hon. Gentleman could make is that his party’s manifesto specified that recall...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his support for our amendment. I would not say it was onl...

The hon. Gentleman just said that the changes in his amendment arise because of past failings in ...

The hon. Gentleman tempts me to restart a debate we had on Second Reading or in Committee. The Op...

If that is the basis for the hon. Gentleman’s position, does he think that those in America’s Hou...

With your indulgence, Mr Deputy Speaker, may I just clarify the point for the hon. Gentleman? Mem...

I am sympathetic to most of the hon. Gentleman’s amendments, but I do have a query about this one...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his argument, but of course that person was not a Member ...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for being so generous in allowing interventions, but his argument also...

I suspect the hon. Gentleman needs no reminding that this Bill is about providing rights to our c...

I support what my hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg) has said. It i...

May I say gently to the hon. Gentleman that he may be confusing sentence with offence? There is n...

My hon. Friend the Member for Northampton North (Michael Ellis) might find me as a supporter. Doe...

Let me help to draw a line. Members must make short interventions, not speeches. If we can make f...

We absolutely agree on the point about IPSA expenses. To provide justice to our constituents, it ...

Let me be clear that I have never said that I do not think the new clause is in a fit and proper ...

I therefore refer the hon. Gentleman to new clause 3, which places the burden of proof on the Mem...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to point out the errors in what I wrote on Lib Dem Voice a...

Perhaps I can return to that point in a moment or two.

Let me explain what we see as the pr...

The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting point. He will be aware, of course, that there is an exis...

The difference is that in the Woolas case in 2010 the complainant had to prove not just a level o...

Three.

Apologies. Those were proper court proceedings that resulted in a verdict. New clause 2 and its a...

I am following carefully what the hon. Gentleman is saying. Could not exactly the same be said of...

The hon. Gentleman leads me perfectly to my final point. Our amendment 24 proposes that a further...

Will the hon. Gentleman add to the criticisms that he has kindly and very well articulated the po...

The hon. Lady is entirely right. There is significant concern, not only in Northern Ireland but i...

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to speak at this stage of the debate to set out the Govern...

Does my right hon. Friend think it is somewhat regrettable that the recall proposal does not actu...

The recall measure contained in the Bill is precisely that envisaged by the parties’ manifestos.<...

The Minister is making an interesting point, but is it not the case that an MP taking any other a...

Indeed. From reading the minds of Members who are interested in, and sympathetic to, a provision ...

Does the Minister however accept that that can happen in other professions? For example, a lorry ...

I accept that. As I have said, the Government’s view is that we should have a free vote on the am...

My preference is for the code to be policed by the public, using the mechanism of accountability ...

The hon. Gentleman made that point clear in his speech.

The amendments and new clauses tabl...

We will see what happens in the Division, but will the Minister assure us that the Government, wi...

The Government’s demeanour throughout the debates on the Bill, if I may put it in this way, has b...

I urge the Minister not to listen too much to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert) for the ...

I said a few moments ago that it had not been possible, in good faith, for the Government to reco...

My right hon. Friend will be aware that that position has been discussed by the House as it relat...

I am grateful for that intervention. It is now clearly on the record and Members can reflect on t...

I support the principle of the Bill: to enable the recall of MPs between general elections if the...

Order. We are dealing with the new clauses and amendments. The hon. Lady’s comments might relate ...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

To conclude, when he winds up the debate, I hope that the Min...

I will restrict my comments to new clause 3, tabled by the hon. Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert)...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Oh, all right, but I am trying to be quick.

I do understand; it is a shame we could not have had these interactions earlier, during my speech...

Yes, and it is remarkably poorly used, for the simple reason that it is regularly taken to appeal...

I am in a good deal of agreement with the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant). I came into thi...

As ever, I am enjoying the hon. Gentleman’s fascinating yet “in order” tour de force, but let me ...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his comment, but I am still discussing new clauses 2 and ...

The hon. Gentleman may be interested to know that so reluctant are the courts—and rightly so—to j...

I happen to think that that is absolutely right, both from our point of view and from the point o...

Or even the Scottish Labour party.

Or even the Scottish Labour party, which is much the same thing.

I do not think this presen...

rose—

Does the hon. Gentleman wish to say something? He is wavering about whether to intervene. I may b...

Given that this Act will, assuming it clears the Lords, come into force at the start of the next ...

The hon. Gentleman puts as good a gloss on it as he can, but I do not think it changes the fundam...

But that is exactly what happened with police and crime commissioners in legislation for which I ...

I think the PCCs are rather an irrelevance to what we are discussing and I want to remain in orde...

rose—

I shall give way, of course, to the hon. Lady.

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for allowing me to intervene. May I put a proposition to him ...

I always give way to the hon. Lady and she always then serves up the most impossible and difficul...

If someone commits an offence currently for which the sentence tariff is less than one year, it i...

I am not sure the hon. Gentleman is right about that because, interestingly, the ability to expel...

My hon. Friend will see that sometimes when the courts come to sentence someone who is brought be...

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend and we have seen this in some of the recent celebrity sex of...

As usual, it is a great honour to follow my hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Jacob...

I accept the hon. Gentleman’s point that the sentence must reflect the crime, but the 1981 Act ap...

There is nothing objectionable about a disqualification provision for those persons who have prev...

We have had an interesting and somewhat complex debate, and it is good to have more Members prese...

I beg to move amendment 9, page 6, line 30, leave out subsections (4) and (5) and insert—

‘...

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Amendment 10, page 6, line 40, le...

After all that excitement, I will try to be brief in presenting these minor and technical amendme...

Order. Other Members should not be standing and speaking in the Chamber. The hon. Member for Camb...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I thank all the Members in the Chamber.

Clause 19 deal...

I, too, will be relatively brief. Amendment 9 relates to an issue we discussed in Committee. The ...

I intend to make a satisfyingly and commendably brief contribution: these amendments are not cont...

A small but very important point is that those signing a petition should know of the percentage t...

As I said, this has been discussed with the Electoral Commission, which has been very careful to ...

This has been a brief and fairly agreeable debate. I hear what the Minister has said. I said that...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

As you can tell, Madam Deputy Spea...

Does the Minister understand why so many of the people who are following this debate are so incre...

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. As I have said, the Bill delivers on our manifesto co...

I rise to make a brief contribution, primarily to say that this Bill is a missed opportunity. It ...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the reluctance of other Members to adopt a genuine recall mech...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for making that genuinely vital point. The Bill as drafted further...

I want to express my support for the Bill as it finishes its passage through this House. In parti...

When the Minister moved the Third Reading, he thanked several people, and I associate myself with...