Boris Johnson’s plan to dismantle the standards regime has been set back. His critics must ensure it is abandoned
Forced on to the back foot by its failed defence of Owen Paterson, who resigned from parliament last Thursday, the government is trying to avoid reversing any further from its plan to overhaul the regime governing standards in parliament. But the issues raised over recent days are too important to be sent packing with the MP for North Shropshire, who repeatedly broke lobbying rules. Lord Evans, who chairs the committee on standards in public life, said last week that the proposal to put a new Tory-dominated committee in charge of MPs’ conduct “is deeply at odds with the best traditions of British democracy”. He was not exaggerating.
MPs have been told that they will, after all, be able to vote on the report of the standards committee that recommended Mr Paterson’s 30-day suspension. Chris Bryant, the Labour MP who chairs it, has announced that a senior judicial figure has been appointed as an adviser, following criticism of the way that Mr Paterson’s case was handled. But there is little sign, so far, that ministers are reconsidering their attitude to the second jobs held down by a quarter of all Tory MPs (and three of Labour’s), or that they plan to revise their contemptuous reaction to the thorough review of standards issued by Lord Evans’ committee earlier this month.
