Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
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Tuesday Volume 553 20 November 2012 No. 71 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Tuesday 20 November 2012 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2012 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 421 20 NOVEMBER 2012 422 Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con): Two weeks House of Commons ago, the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Miss Tuesday 20 November 2012 Smith), gave evidence to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, and said that political and constitutional reforms were worth while only when The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock there was a public appetite for them. Does the Deputy Prime Minister think there is a public appetite for any PRAYERS of the proposals he has just mentioned? The Deputy Prime Minister: Clearly, the priority for [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] all of us is to repair, rescue and reform the damaged British economy—the legacy left to us by Labour—but BUSINESS BEFORE QUESTIONS I have always been of the view that that does not mean that the Government cannot do more than two things at CITY OF LONDON (VARIOUS POWERS)BILL [LORDS] once. Those things could include mayoral elections, (BY ORDER) police and crime commissioner elections—which I know Second Reading opposed and deferred until Tuesday are close to the heart of the hon. Gentleman’s party—or 27 November (Standing Order No. 20). other political reform enthusiasms shared by my party. Those are all things that we have tried to advance over the past two and a half years. Oral Answers to Questions Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP): In the light of the Prime Minister’s visit to Northern Ireland today in advance of negotiations in Brussels and other DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER possible announcements, and of the recent report on tax arrangements in Wales, will the Deputy Prime Minister tell us what discussions have taken place, or will take The Deputy Prime Minister was asked— place, with the Northern Ireland Executive on the further devolution of powers to the Executive? Constitutional Reform The Deputy Prime Minister: As the hon. Lady knows, 1. Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab/Co-op): the proposals in Wales have been put forward on the What the Government’s political and constitutional back of the report published by the Silk commission reform priorities are for the remainder of this Parliament. this week, which advocates further tax devolution to [128848] Wales. We have said that we will look closely at those proposals. She will also be well aware that there is a The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg): The long-standing debate in Northern Ireland about the Government have already introduced fixed-term Parliaments, freedom to set corporation tax rates, which would involve a significant constitutional change, and given people a a different arrangement from the one that we have now. say on the voting system for this House, as well as We have undertaken to look at that very carefully overseeing significant transfers of power to both Scotland indeed, and there has been a succession of discussions and Wales. We also have radical measures in train to and ministerial meetings on the matter. We will arrive at shift power from the centre to local decision makers, a definitive conclusion soon enough. including the recently enacted Local Government Finance Act 2012 and the second wave of city deals, which will Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) accelerate the pace of decentralisation as well as unlocking (LD): One item on the Deputy Prime Minister’s list of new and innovative ways to drive growth. Work also priorities was party funding. Is it not crucial, in the light continues on party funding, recall and lobbying reform. of the lessons that we can learn from the American presidential election, that the parties in this country Gemma Doyle: I thank the Deputy Prime Minister should come together and agree on a sensible measure for that answer, but he has horse-traded with his coalition of party funding, so that we can have a balanced partner on Lords reform, electoral registration, our electoral system that means all the people getting involved electoral system, and boundary changes. Does he not in the elections? agree that the country deserves a better collection of policies than those that simply serve an individual party’s needs? The Deputy Prime Minister: I strongly agree with my hon. Friend. I do not think that anybody, on either side The Deputy Prime Minister: That is a slightly curious of the House, would want to see our politics being allegation coming from a member of a party that had a hollowed out by big money as has clearly happened in manifesto commitment to hold a referendum on the the United States. That is why cross-party talks are alternative vote yet barely lifted a finger to campaign going on at the moment, although agreement has not for it when it was possible to do so, and that has had a yet been reached. We are all familiar with the difficulties manifesto commitment for an elected House of Lords involved. It will require a bit of political will and a bit of for years but has done even less to make that a reality. political courage to reach cross-party agreement, but I Perhaps the hon. Lady should practise what she preaches. hope that we will be able to do that as soon as possible. 423 Oral Answers20 NOVEMBER 2012 Oral Answers 424 Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab): Lorely Burt: For some, life in politics can be a bit like I note the absence of the elections for police and crime a jungle, and a popular vote may help to decide whether commissioners from the Deputy Prime Minister’s list of or not someone should stay. When a Member of this his Government’s constitutional reforms. Those elections House is found guilty of serious wrongdoing and does ended up costing £25 million more because he did not not walk away themselves, should not a popular vote by want them to be held on the same day as the May their constituents provide a chance to “get them out of council elections next year. Will he admit that, in order there”? to try to give the Lib Dems a better chance next May, he has wasted an extra £25 million of public money? The Deputy Prime Minister: Obviously, the devil is in the detail, and the issue is how we as a House define what The Deputy Prime Minister: I know the right hon. serious wrongdoing is. I never thought that disappearing and learned Lady is feeling sore that so many Labour to a jungle on the other side of the planet would be one has-been politicians did not get elected. [Interruption.] of the things we would have to grapple with on this I know it was not a good day for Deputy Prime Ministers, recall issue. I very much hope to make progress, and we past or present, and I admit that. Honestly, she knows are certainly working actively in government to achieve as well as I do that there was a mayoral contest and it. It was a manifesto commitment of all the main Westminster by-elections as well as local by-elections all parties in this Parliament to introduce a recall mechanism, on the same day. Is she now going to start blaming the but to do that we need to arrive at a common understanding November weather for the poor showing of her party at of what constitutes serious wrongdoing and what does the police and crime commissioner elections? That is not. beneath her. Claire Perry: If I may press the Deputy Prime Minister Ms Harman: I do not know why the right hon. a little further, does his reply not suggest that it is up to Gentleman is drawing attention to last Thursday’s results Parliament to define serious wrongdoing, which might because on the showing of his party in the Corby give the impression to constituents that it is a case of by-election, it will need more than a change of date to the poacher turning gamekeeper? Surely it should be up save his party’s fortunes. Will he not admit that no one to the majority of our constituents, perhaps through wanted these police and crime commissioner elections, some sort of referendum, to decide what constitutes whatever the weather, that they were a complete shambles wrongdoing. Whether it be crossing the Floor, disappearing and that the money should have been spent on front-line and not helping constituents, being found guilty of policing instead? fraud or whatever, it is surely our constituents’ job to determine that. The Deputy Prime Minister: If the right hon. and learned Lady dislikes the PCC elections so much, why The Deputy Prime Minister: We have said that there is did her party put up candidates across the country? a sort of double trigger. First, whether in law or otherwise, [Interruption.] I hear “She had to” from a sedentary we need some kind of approximate understanding of position, but no one forced her to put up as candidates what constitutes serious wrongdoing. I do not think the recycled Labour ex-Ministers who then failed to get anyone would want this recall mechanism to be triggered elected. No one obliged her to do that. I really think the for frivolous reasons or for partisan point scoring.