Parliamentary Standards Bill

My hon. Friend makes an acute point. We are prejudging the Kelly inquiry, and I hope that Sir Christopher will not feel bound by that. I was pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Alan Duncan), who opened for the Opposition, said that in government we may revisit this Bill if it becomes law. We should take careful note of anything that Sir Christopher and his committee say about it. It is important that committees are allowed to run their course, take evidence, deliberate and produce a timely report. I have written to Sir Christopher and his committee, as we all had the option of doing, and I included many suggestions from my constituents about the allowances system. Meanwhile, the interim rules on allowances are working satisfactorily. Like all hon. Members, I have had many angry letters and e-mails about perceived past abuses, but I have received no criticism of the interim system. We are working under an austerity package that I support. It was agreed by the previous Speaker and the leaders of the main parties. It is fine as an interim solution and there is no urgency to replace it with institutional change in emergency legislation. This is also the worst possible time to be making such changes, when Parliament is suffering from a collapse in its self-confidence. The institutional structures that the Bill would set up would long outlive the immediate problem of parliamentary expenses abuses. To submit to an external regulator in the way that is proposed would be a mistake.