General Press Comments

[Sir Dylan Macmillan]

I welcome the cross-party support that my Public Appointments and Accountability Bill is receiving. If this legislation can receive support from the very left of the Labour Party all the way through the Lib Dems and into the Conservative Party then there is a very clear consensus developing against the Government's decision to punt this problem into the long grass. It's about time the Prime Minister stopped prevaricating, stopped delaying, and started delivering meaningful reform for the people of this nation.

[Elizabeth Tanner]

If the Conservatives or Lib Dems really want to see Mr Macmillan's bill pass they would put it forward themselves. I have been clear about my next steps on this, an independent inquiry led by experts who will make recommendations to Parliament. This problem is far too important to be incorrectly handled by some backroom deal between Conservative and Lib Dem MPs in some strange attempt to make backroom deals better. We need experience and expertise to get this right.

[Amelia Lockhart]

Legislation on public appointments stemming from a backroom deal by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs would further undermine public trust in our appointments system at a time when it needs building up. Passing this bill would be, correctly, perceived as allowing MPs to mark their own homework on solving this issue. We need an independent assessment and assurances that any solution offered would ensure our public appointments system is transparent and free from politics. Only by starting with an independent process to find the solutions can we deliver that free from politics answer required.

[Sir Dylan Macmillan]

Kicking the issue into the long grass, hoping it fades from view and that the Government can be seen to do something whilst actually doing nothing, is typical New Labour spin, but on this issue it will not do. The architects of New Labour have been seen doing dodgy deals by the whole country, potentially corrupt individuals have been allowed to fail upwards, and the public will not stand for it any longer. While the Government attempt to delay transparency indefinitely a cross-party alliance from all sides of the House are here to shine a light on their dodgy dealings and prevent them from being repeated in the future.

[Sir Jack Anderson]

I’m open to being corrected here, but I remain confused as to why the Conservatives and Liberals think this bill is a magic bullet when they cannot even confirm if it would’ve prevented the appointment they had rallied against to begin with.

There’s also, of course, been quiet acknowledgement that they cannot independently prove that Mr. Mandelson’s appointment was corruption and cronyism. And yet they voted to condemn that appointment after willingly conceding they do not know the facts to pass such judgment.

It really is time we cut the politics out of this and ensured experts who were independent of such politics produced the solution.

[Sir Dylan Macmillan]

While I welcome the news that many of the original ideas of the Public Appointments and Accountability Act are included in the new compromise legislation I must confess that I am disappointed that Mr Croft saw fit to remove the measures related to the ejection of corrupt officials from elected public service. It is essential that we reaffirm, and legislate to prove, that no individuals are above the law including legislators at any level so I will be seeking cross-party support to reintroduce the strong anti-corruption measures of the original Bill into the new legislation.

[Will Frost]

While Labour MPs were busy tripping over themselves to come up with clever ways to insult me and my colleagues, we were busy getting to work with the job the British people sent us to Parliament to do. This evening I have tabled the first Opposition Day legislation since becoming Leader of the Opposition, a bold legislative commitment to take politics out of the public appointment process and deliver much needed independent oversight. The legislation builds off the private member's bill submitted by Mr. Macmillan, and is a direct product of a cross party initiative between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. In the interest of the British people, we have set aside political difference, and decided to act together on this matter of critical national importance.

For the first time, because of the Conservative Party's legislation, the Commissioner will no longer be under the purview for the executive but now exclusively accountable to Parliament. This decision strengthens the office's ability to remain independent, and puts them directly accountable to the British people. The bill also legislates for the independent inquiry the Prime Minister has been calling for, ensuring that Parliament puts necessary parameters and timeframes to guarantee the inquiry is as effective as possible when it comes to getting the answer the British people need and deserve.

Instead of waiting for the Prime Minister and her advisors to figure out how to set up an inquiry that would be most politically advantageous to them and their allies, like Peter Mandelson, the British people will now have the chance to scrutinize a proposal and watch it be debated by their elected representatives. The British people should remain firmly in control of their democracy, and in control of the people who work in their name, and that is what this legislation will guarantee.

[Clarice Ashbridge]

Delighted to see that both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have agreed to back an amended version of Dylan Macmillan's Public Appointments Comprehensive Reform Act. With the backing of the two major opposition parties, and a number of Labour backbenchers, I am confident that this bill will pass, and this country's political system will be better for it. After five years of sleaze and scandal under this government, and decades of power being handed out based on who you know, not what you know, Parliament has the opportunity to make Westminster more transparent, democratic and open.

That being said, despite support from a plethora of principled Labour backbenchers, the Cabinet and Labour's leadership remains stubbornly opposed to any reform in this area. They've said they'll set up an independent inquiry, but this bill does just that: it's plain to see that this is just good old kicking the can down the road politics. It's bad for the government, bad for Parliament and most of all bad for the country. Even more bizarre is the claims by Amelia Lockhart that this bill promoting openness and transparency is a "backroom deal". If the Deputy PM thinks that co-operation between different groups who are usually opposed is a "backroom deal" and should therefore be rejected, God knows how she'll cope when she's talking to the transport unions, business owners or university staff.

[Blakesley]

I am honoured to serve as Foreign Secretary. Over the past four years, Labour government has profoundly shifted the direction of British foreign and security policy. Not only do we retain our place as a core member of NATO, but we embrace exciting opportunities in Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations, and throughout the world. I look forward to growing Britain’s role and realising the fundamental vision laid out in our foreign policy: an open world. A world that rejects closed spheres of influence, facilitates open commerce, ensures the accessibility and preservation of vital global commons, and promotes open and free societies.

We will meet the security challenges that the world faces today. The growing importance of the Pacific, which for the first time surpassed the Atlantic in trade volume, will require robust engagement regionally and the renewal and enhancement of formal structures within the region – including looking at the Five Powers Defence Arrangements and bringing Canada closer to our existing partnerships in the Pacific. The continued importance of NATO will demand our attention as we work to further strengthen the alliance and prepare it for the challenges of tomorrow. Likewise, we must engage meaningfully with Europe – recognising that Europe is likely to be a key partner in humanitarian crises where NATO chooses not to act and combating transnational crime and similar issues.

Yet as we meet security challenges, we must not lose sight of a bigger picture. Global shocks and interconnectedness mean that the traditional silos of foreign and domestic policy no longer exist and that we must pursue a foreign policy that works for the working and middle class in our country. The growing number of intrastate conflicts highlights the reality that humanitarian action and atrocity prevention must be central to our foreign policy. The growing importance of developing nations demands that we renew our commitment to development aid, democracy promotion, and human rights protection. Global threats, ranging from pandemics to climate change, require greater engagement with the international community.

This is a robust agenda, one that I look forward to elaborating upon. However, one thing is absolutely clear: Britain remains a leader on the world stage. To maintain that role, we will need to utilise every instrument of national power available to us: diplomatic, economic, development, military, intelligence, technologic, and cultural. Strengthening soft power institutions, such as the BBC World Service, British Council, and the Department for International Development, must be a top priority – and they will be. We will deliver an ethical foreign policy that ensures security, prosperity, and opportunity for every person in this country. That is our fundamental mission. And we will achieve it.

[Brown]

I had a wonderfully productive meeting with my friend, the Secretary of State for Transport, concerning the continual impact of the Beeching cuts on communities such as mine in Ilkeston. Ilkeston is one of the largest communities in the United Kingdom that is not presently served by a railway station, resulting in inconvenience for many. Unfortunately this problem is not unique to Ilkeston--countless communities throughout the United Kingdom with significant populations are not served by a nearby railway station resulting in less accessibility to rail, requiring many to rely on other, less environmentally friendly and more expensive modes of transportation. We have begun preliminary discussions on how to address this issue not only for my constituency, but for other places in the United Kingdom to ensure that this problem is finally addressed by working along side local governments. I will continue to advocate strongly for my constituents in Erewash and ensure that I and my Cabinet colleagues continue to put the issues that our constituents and our nation care about first and foremost in this Government.