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MPs debating voter 'recall' powers MPs debating voter 'recall' powers
(about 2 hours later)
MPs are debating whether voters should be able to deselect them using a "power of recall" if they are found guilty of serious wrongdoing.MPs are debating whether voters should be able to deselect them using a "power of recall" if they are found guilty of serious wrongdoing.
The government says an MP should be unseated if 10% of voters sign a petition, after the MP is sent to jail or given a prolonged Commons ban. The government says an MP should be unseated if 10% of voters sign a petition, after the MP is jailed or given a prolonged Commons ban.
But critics argue it should be easier than this to get proceedings against unpopular politicians going.But critics argue it should be easier than this to get proceedings against unpopular politicians going.
Conservative and Lib Dem MPs may get a free vote on aspects of the bill.Conservative and Lib Dem MPs may get a free vote on aspects of the bill.
Introducing the "power of recall" - allowing voters to force a by-election when MPs have been found guilty of wrongdoing and 10% of his or her constituents have signed a petition calling for their removal - was one of the promises in the 2010 coalition agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.Introducing the "power of recall" - allowing voters to force a by-election when MPs have been found guilty of wrongdoing and 10% of his or her constituents have signed a petition calling for their removal - was one of the promises in the 2010 coalition agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
'Minimum acceptable''Minimum acceptable'
Recall is used in several countries, including the US, where actor Arnold Schwarzenegger became California Governor after Gray Davis was unseated in 2003.Recall is used in several countries, including the US, where actor Arnold Schwarzenegger became California Governor after Gray Davis was unseated in 2003.
But, unlike the system used in California, under the coalition's plans an MP could not be ousted simply because they are unpopular.But, unlike the system used in California, under the coalition's plans an MP could not be ousted simply because they are unpopular.
Cabinet Office minister Greg Clark, opening the debate, said: "We are, in this matter, breaking new ground in terns of our constitution. It seems that the traditions in this House and in our country is that we proceed with care when making constitutional changes."Cabinet Office minister Greg Clark, opening the debate, said: "We are, in this matter, breaking new ground in terns of our constitution. It seems that the traditions in this House and in our country is that we proceed with care when making constitutional changes."
Currently, a prison sentence of more than 12 months already automatically means an MP must go.Currently, a prison sentence of more than 12 months already automatically means an MP must go.
Alternative plan
The government's plans would require the imposition of a prison sentence of up to 12 months or a ban from the Commons lasting more than 21 sitting days before a petition could be set up.The government's plans would require the imposition of a prison sentence of up to 12 months or a ban from the Commons lasting more than 21 sitting days before a petition could be set up.
Commons bans are handed down by the Commons Standards Committee, which is mostly made up of MPs. There are concerns that this leaves too much power in the hands of parliamentarians - rather than the public - to decide the fate of colleagues. Mr Clark said the Recall of MPs Bill aimed to address cases like that of Chris Huhne, the former Liberal Democrat cabinet minister who quit the Commons after being jailed for six months perverting the course of justice.
He was not forced from office under the current rules and could have kept his seat until the next election had he chosen to do so.
Mr Clark said: "The fact it was a choice rather than compulsion is the loophole this bill seeks to avoid." A vote on the bill is expected at around 19:00 BST.
Commons bans are handed down by the Commons Standards Committee, which is mostly made up of MPs. There are concerns that the government's plan leaves too much power in the hands of parliamentarians - rather than the public - to decide the fate of colleagues.
The petition would be open for eight weeks and, if by then 10% of eligible voters have signed it, the seat would be declared vacant and a by-election called.The petition would be open for eight weeks and, if by then 10% of eligible voters have signed it, the seat would be declared vacant and a by-election called.
Alternative plan Conservative backbencher MP Zac Goldsmith has devised a rival plan, which he says will give constituents more power. He wants MPs to be recalled if 5% of voters in a constituency sign a "notice of intent to recall" and 20% then sign a "recall petition".
The Recall of MPs Bill is being debated for the first time by MPs on Tuesday afternoon with a vote expected at around 19:00 BST. He told the Commons: "Under these (government) proposals it would still be possible for an MP to switch parties, to refuse to attend Parliament, to disappear off on holiday, to break every conceivable promise made before the election without qualifying for recall.
Conservative backbencher MP Zac Goldsmith has devised a rival plan, which he says will give constituents more power. "And the public will discover at the very first scandal that they've been misled."
He wants MPs to be recalled if 5% of voters in a constituency sign a "notice of intent to recall" and 20% then sign a "recall petition".
This, he says, will bypass the need for the Commons to censure MPs before voters can take action and put voters in the "driving seat".
Mr Goldsmith wrote on Twitter: "Clegg's version of recall is possible only by permission of Parliament and in impossibly narrow circumstances."
So far 68 MPs from all parties, including prominent Conservatives and Labour backbenchers as well as UKIP MP Douglas Carswell and Green MP Caroline Lucas, have backed Mr Goldsmith's version.So far 68 MPs from all parties, including prominent Conservatives and Labour backbenchers as well as UKIP MP Douglas Carswell and Green MP Caroline Lucas, have backed Mr Goldsmith's version.
He expects Prime Minister David Cameron to "move considerably" by allowing a free vote on amendments to the bill during its later parliamentary stages.
Mr Cameron has described the powers in the bill as the "minimum acceptable" and promised to look carefully at any amendments.
His spokesman said he was "very keen" for the debate "to be as wide as possible".
Vested interests
Mr Clegg said he had "always wanted the most radical, deliverable possible form of recall".
But he said Mr Goldsmith's proposal "would give a field day to very-well-funded vested interests who do not like what someone has done on gay marriage or the environment or abortion or fox hunting to basically hound MPs they don't like".
Labour says it has problems with both Mr Clegg's and Mr Goldsmith's proposals and that it will look "closely" at what the government is proposing.
Veteran Labour MP Frank Dobson suggested that his predecessor as MP for Holborn and St Pancras, Lena Jeger, could have been "punished" by voters under a system of recall for her support of abortion legislation in the 1960s.
"Recall of MPs could have deterred many from sticking their necks out," he wrote in the Guardian.
"In my view, far from empowering the electorate this system would be open to abuse by powerful vested interests and most likely deployed to hinder social progress."
But, backing Mr Goldsmith's amendments, campaign group Unlock Democracy said the government's bill "utterly failed to deliver" and it was "almost certain" that no MPs would be held to account as a result.