Parliamentary Standards Bill

My Lords, I beg to move that the Bill be committed to a Committee of the Whole House. Normally, as this House knows, that would be all that I would say as Leader at this point. However, with the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Norton of Louth, we are in unusual territory, and I would like to take this opportunity to make a few short points. As I have said several times this afternoon, I am aware of the work done and the points made about the Bill, specifically about its timing, in the Chamber this afternoon and by your Lordships’ Constitution Committee. I understand the concerns and the genuine desire to see legislation taken through Parliament in a measured and considered way. However, I am also aware, as anyone in this House or, especially, in the other place must be, of the strength of public feeling on these issues and the desire not just for reform and improvement but for that reform and improvement to be put in place as soon as possible. The public want action and they want it now. The Constitution Committee wants due process properly considered. However, I do not believe that the two positions are incompatible. It is not impossible to bring the two positions together, which is exactly what the Government are trying to do. We are trying to strike the right balance between the genuine public desire for urgent reform and the equally genuine constitutional call for due process. I believe that, in the arrangements that we are proposing for the Bill, we are indeed striking that balance and striking it correctly. Accordingly, I urge the House to pass the Motion that I am moving.