Recall of MPs Bill

Lord Tyler Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Norton of Louth (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Soley, made a persuasive case. However, I am particularly drawn to the alternative that he identified, which is to provide for a review of the Act after, say, five years. The precedent already exists in the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. We have already written into that Act that it will be subject to review.

The Minister may say that this Act will in any case be subject to post-legislative review by the relevant department three to five years after enactment, but I think there may be a case with such a significant constitutional measure for the review to be post-legislative scrutiny and for it to be included in the measure. I commend that review proposal as an alternative to what the noble Lord is putting forward. It is something to which we may wish to return on Report.

[Lord Tyler (LD)]

My Lords, not for the first time I entirely agree with my noble friend Lord Norton of Louth. However, I want to make one more substantial point about the Bill and say why I think that some form of review is necessary, whether it is a sunset clause or a review of the kind that my noble friend has suggested.

I have followed the course of these proposals from the very early days of the draft Bill in the other place. I have attended debates there and have watched and listened and have been involved in a number of discussions with Members of both Houses. We should recognise that a feature of this Bill which has been very evident from our discussions in your Lordships’ House is that Members of the other place were for understandable reasons very inhibited when they examined the details of the Bill. They felt that it was self-serving to some extent and they were embarrassed at looking at it in great detail and finding fault with it because they felt that, in so doing, they were somehow putting themselves in an invidious position. Indeed, some were also influenced by pressures from outside not to say anything, not to question, not to challenge and not to query. For that reason, the Bill, as it now stands, will satisfy no one.

In those circumstances, we should bear in mind very carefully what was said by noble Lords on all sides of your Lordships’ House—that they hope that the Bill will never be used. It was said most recently by the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy. He said that he hoped it would never be used or used very infrequently. In those circumstances, it would be irresponsible of Parliament not to set out some sort of review procedure to determine the timescale for looking at the Bill again. The proof of the pudding will be in its eating. If nobody eats it, is satisfied with it or finds it digestible in any form whatever, Parliament has a responsibility to go back and look at it again.

We have all discussed in various fora the advantages of post-legislative scrutiny, and I know that my noble friend is a protagonist for that. Of course, we should do that more often but in this particular case it is important that Ministers think very carefully between now and Report about what mechanism they would prefer for doing that. I do not mind which it is, whether it is a review or a sunset clause. This is an unusual Bill in the way it has been treated in the other place and the considerable concerns and anxieties that have been expressed throughout the House. I make no bones about it: I think it is still capable of being improved. Some think that it is beyond improvement. I have put forward some proposals and am still hopeful that Ministers will meet me and other colleagues from all sides of the House to look at the concerns and criticisms of the Constitution Committee to see whether we can meet them in a more effective way. However, as things stand, I believe that it would be simply irresponsible for Parliament to leave this Bill in its current state without including some mechanism for proper review in a prescribed way and at a prescribed time.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his amendment. I understand his intention in bringing it forward. In making such a key constitutional change as introducing a power of recall, we must proceed with caution. In this sense, I appreciate the cautious intent behind the amendment. However, I question whether a sunset provision can be justified where the Bill relies on defined tests of serious wrongdoing. Having given the public the right of recall, it would be very hard to remove that right after a period without a very good reason. It seems to me that, should there be a wish to change the system of recall, the onus should be on future Governments to bring such arguments to Parliament to amend or repeal the provisions in the Bill through primary legislation. It does not seem right that the power of recall would simply cease to operate after five years with no examination of how effective it had been and no possibility of extending it, except by introducing primary legislation again. It is for those reasons that the Government are not persuaded that a sunset clause is the appropriate way forward and I ask the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.

[Lord Tyler]

Before my noble friend sits down, will he respond to the alternative that my noble friend Lord Norton and I have put before him?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, obviously one cannot commit a future Government, but I am sure that a review in some form will take place and is interesting. However, I am dealing with the amendment that is before me, which proposes a sunset clause, and the Government do not think that a sunset clause is the appropriate way forward.