Phil Brickell
Main Page: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)Department Debates - View all Phil Brickell's debates with the Leader of the House
(4 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
It does sound slightly odd, and I share the hon. Lady’s concern. If she provides me with the details, I will take them away and get the Department to look at them to see how the council has interpreted the rules and whether this is the reality, but I hope that the council has heard her remarks.
Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)
I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on anti-corruption and responsible tax. This week, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) declared that he is earning an extraordinary £22,500 per hour working for a gold bullion dealer.
Mr Speaker
Order. Have you informed the hon. Member for Clacton that you intended to raise this matter?
Phil Brickell
Questions have also emerged about his lobbying the Bank of England for crypto-friendly policies, having himself invested £215,000 into bitcoin company Stack BTC, alongside former Conservative Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. Does the Leader of the House agree that Members of this House are public servants and that we should always put our constituents first, before any private interest? Will he use his good offices as Chair of the Modernisation Committee to deliver much-needed reform to the rules on Members’ outside employment?
Sir Alan Campbell
Yes. I share my hon. Friend’s view about the importance of the primary job of MPs. There was a debate on the issue in Westminster Hall yesterday. This matter was raised on a number of occasions and the Minister without Portfolio set out the current Government’s response. The Government believe that an MP’s primary job is to represent their constituents, which is why we have already made some important changes following the general election to tighten the rules relating to MPs’ second jobs. We accept that there is a great deal more to do and I will continue to work closely with the Committee on Standards, which is looking at this matter and I hope will bring forward recommendations that satisfy my hon. Friend.