Recall of MPs Bill — House of Lords, 2015-01-19
Topic: Civil Rights
Robert Hughes (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I appreciate that the tabling of this amendment leaves me open to the possibility of being accused of censorship by refusing people the right to free speech. I understand that point but I believe that this amendment brings us to the heart of the difficulties and problems we have with the Bill. Throughout our discussions, both Ministers have repeatedly referred to the three triggers that can start a petition. They have dealt with the matter not as though we are dealing with a general election or a recall Bill. I am sorry to repeat what I have said on a previous occasion but this Bill is wrongly named. It is a recall limited Bill and not a recall Bill. We know that the aim of the people whose driving goes behind the recall is a total recall on grounds of policy As much as we may like to believe that in general discussions in a constituency the atmosphere of rational debate will be followed—I agree that, much as in this place, there may be the occasional flash of annoyance—that is living in cloud-cuckoo-land. As soon as the notice goes out to the petition officer that a recall petition is to be held, there will be open season. This Bill will become a de facto recall Bill because under its terms everything that has been said or done by an MP can be called into account I believe that no one could have been an MP for any period of time without annoying some constituents or groups of constituents. For example, in my constituency in north Aberdeen, there were boundary changes and we took into the west of the city a new, privately owned housing estate. The traffic from Aberdeen airport and the surrounding industrial estate into Aberdeen and south of Aberdeen caused horrendous problems. The city council decided to do something about it. It proposed a spur road to join the ring road, which would have involved some impingement on the private housing estate, although not a great deal but certainly a significant amount. Of course, the noise generated by the traffic would be significant I was invited, or perhaps I should say summoned, to a meeting of 150 absolutely furious people. They said that the value of their property and their quality of life would be destroyed, all for the sake of a few minutes of traffic problems. They proposed an alternative, which was that the spur road, as I call it, should be moved to the east of where they were and run through a local authority housing estate. I accept that this local authority housing estate was not the most salubrious estate in the city of Aberdeen. I am very proud of the housing estates in the city but this one was not the best. These people thought that because they were owner-occupiers they had a better right than council house tenants. I had to disagree with them I fully understood their concerns and I said that I would do what I could to alleviate them but I would not agree simply to shift the problem from one part of the constituency to another. I suggested that the road should go to the north of the city, over a flyover in order to avoid a notorious roundabout and then go on from there. I was accused of copping out of the difficulty. I was told in no uncertain terms that I was considering my council house tenant constituents above them. I was told in very menacing terms, "You will pay for this at the general election". As most noble Lords will know, I was very fortunate. I never had a majority of less than 10,500 and never more than 18,500. I must admit that I was not frightened by the prospect. However, I seriously and honestly ask myself whether I would have been so steely had I been in a marginal constituency. Obviously, I cannot answer that question. It is very easy to fall out, not with groups of constituents but with individual constituents. I tell a story against myself. In the good old days, when business in the House of Commons on a Friday was taken very seriously, I was a junior Minister and I had a very fraught and difficult Friday on the Floor of the House. I finally got away and managed to catch the late evening plane to Aberdeen where I had an advice centre on the Saturday morning. I would have happily taken the weekend off and not gone, but it was published so I went. At 8.15 pm, I went to the office to make sure that there were no sudden cases needing urgent attention. The phone rang and I picked it up. A voice that I knew well said, "Oh, it’s you, is it?". I said, "Why?". He said, "No one’s ever here by that phone". I said, "My secretary works from nine to five and, on a Friday night especially, I would not expect her to be here. Do you always phone at this time of night?". "Oh yes", he said, "But no one ever answers". I said, "With respect, how are your broken legs and your broken wrists?". He said, "What do you mean?". I said, "Well, you know I hold a regular advice centre on a Saturday morning that is advertised in the press. You must be severely incapacitated if you can’t come down to the office with this problem. How long have you been trying to get hold of me?". He said, "At least six to eight weeks". I said, "I am very sorry about that. How are your broken wrists?". He said, "What do you mean, my broken wrists?". I said, "Well, if it is so serious, you could have put pen to paper. You know the address". He mumbled something and I said, with some asperity if you like, "Look, it can’t be a serious problem. You are wasting my time, so bog off", and I slammed the phone down After I had done that, I realised that I had made an enemy for life. Although I met the man frequently after that and the issue never came up between us, he went around saying that I was impolite, did not care for my constituents and so on. That could be multiplied by two or three, plus the 150 disgruntled people at the meeting about the road. Surely everyone knows that as soon as the recall petition is announced, the media and press in every shape or form will descend on the constituency like a swarm of locusts. That is not to mention the cybertrolls whom we cannot control As for an MP who is put before the Procedure Committee and his recall petition is announced, you cannot stop the press saying that the guilty, disgraced MP is facing a recall. In fact, even if an MP were to succeed in overturning a recall petition and to continue in his seat, he would always be described as, "The MP found guilty, put to a recall petition, and succeeded". We cannot stop that, but we have to find some way of controlling the huge influx of publicity and rhetoric, some of which will arise from outside the constituency itself. It will not be generated so much by the constituents as by the press and the media, who will be determined to make the recall a success from their point of view We must find a way of controlling that. There is a balance and I am sure that the Minister will see it as a balance between free speech and fair play. From what was said on the previous day in Committee we can see that there is no possibility of an MP in trouble getting a square deal in this matter. The dice are totally loaded against him. He will not get the chance to campaign with a counterpetition. He will not get a chance with the media. He will not get a chance because he is dead in the water. I am and always have been all in favour of MPs who transgress being properly dealt with. This country of ours has had a high reputation for its standards of democracy and the standards of its politicians. Sadly, the expenses scandal has almost wiped that out, which is a sad thing to say. The activities of a very few have destroyed our reputation, but that does not mean that we should not seek to defend our reputation and our democracy It is my view that this proposed new clause will go some way towards striking the balance. It will stop campaigns being paid for by people on the outside and carried out by those with no real interest in democracy. They are interested solely in proving a political point. They are demanding the total recall of MPs for any reason whatever and sadly this whole process is leading us towards that. I beg to move.