John Baron MP speaks in Standards Debate

MP: We must proceed on a cross-party basis

Following the events of last week, when John Baron MP defied his Government on the standards vote, opposition MPs secured an Emergency Debate on standards which took place yesterday. Wendy Chamberlain MP, a Liberal Democrat, opened the debate, and Chris Bryant MP, the Chair of the Committee on Standards, also made a contribution. The Committee is currently producing a report on possible reforms which will consider many of the aspects thrown up by the situation.

During the debate in his intervention on Wendy Chamberlain MP, John said,

“I defied the three-line Whip of my Government last week on this issue, and think she will agree that it was patently wrong to try to reform the system at this point. We have had years to reform it, but does she agree that we need cross-party support for this, and that, given that the Committee on Standards is already looking at the issue, we should wait for its findings before making any further decisions?”

Wendy Chamberlain MP responded that opposition MPs wish to proceed on the basis of consensus.

Later in the debate, John intervened on Chris Bryant MP,

“I suggest to him that reform is a natural, evolving process but, by and large, the system works quite well, so whatever the honourable Member does, will he make sure that it is transparent, as far as he is able to, and that it progresses as speedily as possible? What I take away from this debate and from last week’s vote is that the right thing to do is to let the Committee produce its recommendations and for the House to consider them in full debate.”

Chris Bryant MP said he was grateful for John’s point.

John said afterwards,

“With a cool head, the Government now needs to map out how it intends to work with all parties to see if some reform is needed. As said in the debate, I believe the system works quite well, but there is always room for improvement. However, this review should not be conflated with any individual case.”