Contributions
4,038 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Committee on StandardsI am sure that the Committee we are setting up will want to consider the appearance of witnesses and whether that ought to be a fundamental right of people accused of serious…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsThe right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and this is one of the key things that the Committee will be asked to look at, to see whether it can clarify the interpretation on…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsI am grateful to my hon. Friend, who makes a point that I am going to make in slightly more detail.03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsI am, as always, grateful to the hon. Gentleman, as he proves my point. The pieties espoused from the other side about being non-partisan are always undermined by the hon.…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsBecause the rules are not being treated in that way. The exemption exists for whistleblowing, which I will come to.03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsThe right hon. Lady says that this has been looked at, and it has, but there has been no form of appeal and many of the aspects of it have been contested.03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsMy hon. Friend is right about that.03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsThat is the point I made earlier about the unfortunate state of affairs whereby this House does not work as a court of appeal, but, regrettably, becomes partisan, which reinforces…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsThe hon. Gentleman raises an important point, and I am grateful to him for doing so. The reason why this has come now is the volume of complaints that have come through and the…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsI am afraid the hon. Lady has not troubled to read the amendment, which does not overturn the report of the Standards Committee. The amendment asks whether there should be a form…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsI am answering the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips), so have patience. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley has raised this point in previous debates, saying…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsI think the hon. Lady knows me well enough to know that the answer is yes. I would have no hesitation in doing exactly the same if I thought a Labour Member had not had a proper…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsThe Committee on Standards is clearly not an appeal process, because it is the Committee’s report, not the commissioner’s report, that comes before us. The commissioner is the…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsI beg to move, That this House– (1) approves the Third Report of the Committee on Standards (HC 797); (2) endorses the recommendation in paragraph 212; and (3) accordingly…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsMy hon. Friend has already intervened. Let me continue, because I am conscious of time. The Committee noted that the commissioner has, since March 2020, routinely conducted an…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsThank you for your ruling, Mr Speaker. It is always a balance in this House as to whether one tries to answer as many questions as possible, which is, I think, the better way of…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsIt is not true that all the posts are elected. The Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, for example, is not elected. The hon. Gentleman, who is on the Procedure Committee,…03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsI cannot refuse to give way to the hon. Gentleman.03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsSometimes, to do the right thing, one has to accept a degree of opprobrium, but it is more important to do the right thing to ensure that there is fairness.03 Nov 2021HANSARD Committee on StandardsI think the hon. Gentleman is going to speak at the end, so it may be best if he does that.03 Nov 2021