For the First Time the House of Lords Now Has the Power to Expel Members Permanently

 

The House of Lords today Thursday July 16,2015 agreed two new, stronger sanctions to deal with future behaviour that breaches the Code of Conduct.

The previous difficulty of only being able to suspend a Member until the end of a Parliament has been overcome. Suspension is now available as a sanction for any length of time that the House considers appropriate.

Furthermore, for the first time the House now has the power to expel permanently.

In recent years, the House has strengthened the rules themselves (contained in the Code of Conduct). All Members now sign a declaration to obey the code and the seven principles of public life. They undertake always to put the public interest first.

 The requirement that Members must always act on their personal honour has been reinforced. An indication of willingness to breach the code is now itself a breach of the code, even if nothing more has been done.

For this reason Members caught in sting operations by journalists have been found guilty of breaking the code even though nothing happened beyond a discussion about what they might do for future (bogus) employers.

Members are strictly forbidden to lobby government ministers or officials in return for payment or other reward.

All relevant financial and non-financial interests held by Members must be disclosed in the register of interests, which is publicly available at parliament.uk.

There is a comprehensive system in place to advise Members on their obligations to disclose and to follow up complaints that they have failed to do so.

All gifts and hospitality which are worth more than £140 and relate to membership of the House must be declared in the register of interests. This sum is cumulative over the course of a year.

 In addition, new guidance on lobbying advises Members not to accept any but the most trifling of gifts from lobbyists, even if below the threshold for disclosure in the register.

Members' staff are also now subject to a code of conduct. This requires them to disclose in a published register all their other employers, and forbids them from using their access to Parliament to lobby on behalf of third parties. This provides reassurance that Members' staff cannot abuse their privileged access to the parliamentary estate.

All allegations of breaches of the members' code or the staff code are investigated by the independent House of Lords Commissioner for Standards. In addition to receiving complaints from the public, the Commissioner can himself launch an investigation into a Member's conduct. The parliamentary website gives information about his work.

The House has actively used its available penalties: ten Members have been suspended since 2009; and the new power to expel Members will make the disciplinary process even more robust.