The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg)
Today the Government are introducing the Recall of MPs Bill to the House of Commons, with explanatory notes and an impact assessment.
The Bill puts in place a recall mechanism for MPs which is transparent, robust and fair. It strikes a fair balance between holding to account those who do not maintain certain standards of conduct, while giving MPs the freedom to do their job and make difficult decisions where necessary.
The Bill takes account of a number of helpful recommendations from the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny report on the draft Bill which was published in 2011.
Under the Bill, there are two conditions for the opening of a recall petition; first, that an MP is convicted in the UK of an offence and receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or less; or secondly that the House of Commons orders the suspension of the MP for at least 21 sitting days—or at least 28 calendar days if the motion is not expressed in terms of sitting days.
Where one of these triggers is met, an MP’s constituents will have an opportunity to sign a recall petition, calling for a by-election. If 10% of parliamentary electors in the constituency sign the petition, the MP’s seat will become vacant and a by-election will be held. The recall petition process does not prevent the unseated MP from standing in the by-election.
The Bill also sets out the framework for the regulation of campaign expenditure and donations at recall petitions.
A copy of the Bill and explanatory notes can be found on the website:
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/