Political Parties and Elections Bill

The hon. Gentleman should keep his speech for when he is called. What he said has nothing to do with what I was saying. I seek a level playing field, justice and fairness in elections. That is my sole motivation. I do not do so because of any personal problems in my constituency. Let us investigate the principle of taxation and influence in the electoral system. It is no accident that it was the House of Lords that passed the amendment. Their lordships were the first to see a clear connection between paying taxes and the right to be a Member of this legislature. As my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle mentioned, the House of Lords Appointments Commission recently announced that it will not accept any new peers who are not resident for tax purposes. That test, being resident for tax purposes, should have been in the 2000 Act. It is now being introduced by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. Indeed, the other place is debating a Bill that could lead to tax exiles being deprived of their titles, which would be only right. Lord Laidlaw has already been forced to take leave of absence from the House of Lords after failing to abide by a pledge to move his tax affairs onshore. He was appointed on the understanding that he would pay tax in this country, but he has not done so. Their lordships see a clear connection between paying taxes and influencing elections. I do not understand why hon. Members are so slow to see that connection. The House of Commons has been through a very difficult time in the past few months over the expenses scandal, with many MPs being publicly and humiliatingly disgraced—some rightly, some wrongly. Our job now is to audit MPs' expenses and see whether we can identify and punish wrongdoing and clear other MPs of the dark clouds of suspicion that hang over the whole of Parliament. It is our job to clean up politics, and the amendment is a part of that. It will not do MPs of any party any good to vote against the amendment or even to speak against it. That throws us right back into the morass from which we are trying to escape.