In the aftermath of the Owen Paterson controversy, prime minister Boris Johnson has set out plans to ban MPs from working as paid consultants.
Writing to the Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Johnson said that a ban on MPs working as paid consultants should be implemented “as a matter of urgency” to prevent members from “exploiting their positions”.
Tory MP for North Shropshire, Owen Paterson, resigned after Parliament’s Standards Committee adjudged that he had broken parliamentary rules by lobbying for two firms that were paying him a salary.
The ensuing row over Paterson’s conduct has fuelled recent debate around MPs having second jobs and the types of second roles that should be allowed.
If Johnson’s plans for the ban are to go ahead, they will need to pass a formal vote in the Commons, since such a move will require the MPs’ code of conduct to be changed.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life had first recommended such changes be made to the MPs' code of conduct back in 2018, the BBC reports.
The news outlet believes around 30 MPs are likely to be affected if the change goes ahead.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed the PM’s move a “significant victory” for the opposition.
Sir Keir was speaking at a press conference, during which he outlined Labour’s own plans to ban all MPs’ second jobs, excluding public service roles or professions requiring registration.
Some of the exemptions to Labour’s plan would include MPs working as NHS doctors and nurses, those working in the police force, and as reserves in the Armed Forces.
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons
