Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

I am. That is a reminder that this House should not be for those who are well off and those who are poor, both of whom can come to this place and not have too much of a worry. It also should not just be for those who are flashers and those who are church mice; we should also include those who are normally embarrassed if they are seen without their clothes on. We need to try to ensure a reasonable spectrum. Many MPs who stay here for some time move through inexperience and poverty, and end up reasonably comfortable—they may have grown out of their family responsibilities and their housing costs will have probably reduced. All I can do is tell hon. Members what it was like for my first 22 years here. I had two dependent children when I got elected and I had a third child when I had been in Parliament for seven years. When my wife was working less than part-time, I very nearly had to leave Parliament because I did not want to go either crooked or broke. I hope that IPSA will take that kind of thing into account. May I end by discussing something that is not contained in these provisions? In my early years, I shared a large room in Old Palace Yard. One of my colleagues married his secretary—she was a competent secretary and she was a good wife afterwards, Why should such a person have to lose her job in those circumstances? What if I had married her, so that she could go on working for him? I was not free to do so—[Laughter.] The wife of a Member of Parliament can be elected to this place and get their own pay through the taxpayer, so what is so different about the person who gives support as a spouse? I offer Pauline Ashley as probably one of the best examples. She gave devoted service to Jack Ashley's constituents and a great deal of help to Jack. I can think of many other such examples—I shall not name any involving those in the Chamber—where the same thing has applied. This was a bad suggestion and I hope that IPSA will throw it out. Obviously, one needs to justify the work that the family member is doing, but a blanket exclusion is wrong.