Political Parties and Elections Bill

My Lords, I want to make it clear that the new clause we are proposing fulfils the promises made by all three party leaders in recent days that the eventual decision about whether a Member of Parliament found to have behaved dishonestly should rest with constituents. The amendment is effectively a facilitating amendment; it would set in place a responsibility on the Secretary of State to call from the Electoral Commission, within six months of the passage of this Bill as an Act, a request to review and report on procedures for local referenda on the recall by constituents of a Member of Parliament found guilty of misconduct. As with so many things on the reform agenda, we are providing an opportunity this afternoon for all those who say that they favour change to put their votes where their rhetoric is. The amendment introduces the prospect of constituents being able to recall their Member of Parliament—ultimately, then, to give him or her the sack—if, and only if, they have been judged by an independent body to have made a serious transgression of the rules. People have been asking why MPs who have announced their quiet exit from Parliament should be allowed to wait and why, if they have been found out for charging the taxpayer for duck houses or dry rot, or have learnt how to flip their second home arrangements like pancakes to make extra cash, they should not be subject to recall now. Why should constituents wait until the Prime Minister calls a general election for an opportunity to choose a new Member of Parliament?