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  1. Politics
4 June 2014updated 09 Jun 2021 8:19am

Cameron faces rebellion over recall bill “stitch up“

Tory MP Zac Goldsmith will table a motion criticising the government for not giving voters the full power to remove MPs guilt of wrongdoing. 

By George Eaton

One of the most politically notable bills in today’s Queen’s Speech is that on the recall of MPs. Before the general election, held under the shadow of the expenses scandal, all three of the main parties pledged to give voters the power to recall MPs found guilty of wrongdoing, a vow repeated in the Coalition Agreement. 

But the draft bill produced by the government fell well short of what was originally promised. Rather than allowing voters to trigger a by-election when an MP is found guilty of wrongdoing, provided that at least 10 per cent of constituents had signed a petition, it vested the power in the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee (unless the MP is question was jailed).

Zac Goldsmith, one of the parliamentary champions of recall, declared: “Recall is usually taken to mean giving power back to voters. It’s about empowering voters, not parliamentary committees. The government’s proposals are the opposite of what was intended and promised.

“In true recall, where a percentage of the voting population sign a petition, it immediately triggers a recall vote and people are asked if they want their representative to be recalled. If the answer is yes, there is then a byelection. It ends the safe seat situation, by allowing people to remove their MP, and to still replace them with someone of the same party.”

The measure was later abandoned entirely as a distraction from the government’s core legislative agenda (one of Lynton Crosby’s “barnacles”) and a potentially damaging point of division. 

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But in the wake of the Patrick Mercer scandal, the original bill has been revived and will feature today. Goldsmith, however, has already launched a pre-emptive strike against the coalition. The Conservative MP has been gathering signatures for an Early Day Motion demanding “proper recall”, which he will table following the Queen’s Speech. He said of the bill: “It’s not a ‘watered down’ version of recall, it’s a stitch up. A step backwards, not forwards.” 

While the rebellion looks likely to be modest by Tory standards, Goldsmith’s agitation will serve as a reminder of Cameron’s failure to deliver on his promise of “a new politics” of democracy and transparency. Whether Ed Miliband is bold enough to point out as much, and to take up the cause of recall himself, remains to be seen. 

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