The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Miss Chloe Smith)
The coalition programme for Government included a clear commitment to establish a power of recall, allowing voters to force a by-election where an MP is found to have engaged in serious wrongdoing and 10% of his or her constituents have signed a petition calling for a by-election.
We set out our proposals and draft legislation in a White Paper which has been scrutinised by the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and we have today issued our full response to their report.
In our response, we have reiterated our intention to proceed with the introduction of a recall mechanism and to legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows.
We believe this recall mechanism will go some way to restoring trust and accountability to the political process. It will provide an important tool for the House to add to its own suite of disciplinary measures and will give a reassurance to constituents who should not have to rely on their MP choosing to stand down following the committal of a serious wrongdoing.
The recall mechanism we are proposing will have two triggers. Firstly, where a Member receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or less, a recall petition will be automatically opened in that Member’s constituency (under the Representation of the People Act 1981, where a Member receives a custodial sentence of more than 12 months, they are automatically disqualified from membership of the House). If 10% of constituents sign the petition, the MP’s seat will be vacated and a by-election called. The former MP may stand as a candidate.
Secondly a recall petition will be opened where the House of Commons resolves that one of its members should face recall. This will ensure that a Member could also face recall where they have committed serious wrongdoing which did not result in a custodial sentence, for example, a serious breach of the House of Commons Code of Conduct. This will be a new disciplinary power for the House to help ensure that it is able to deal with disciplinary issues effectively. Constituents would again then have the opportunity to decide if a by-election should be held.
We welcome the Committee’s thorough consideration of the proposals and have accepted many of their recommendations, particularly on the conduct of the recall petition. The process of pre-legislative scrutiny has been valuable and will result in an improved Bill being presented to Parliament in due course.