Chair nominations open for Committee on Standards

• Committee on Standards
• Commons Briefing Note 

Chris Bryant MP

Nominated by (own party)

Kate Green, Christian Matheson, Alex Sobel, Stella Creasy, Dame Diana Johnson, Sir George Howarth, Ruth Cadbury, Peter Kyle, Maria Eagle, Alison McGovern, Jess Phillips, Kevin Brennan, Ms Lyn Brown, Carolyn Harris, Kerry McCarthy

Nominated by (other parties)

Jeremy Hunt, Andrea Leadsom, Mel Stride, Jack Lopresti, Layla Moran

Statement

Kate Green, retiring Chair of the Standards Committee, ‘I have nominated Chris because he is a passionate advocate for parliament and will robustly defend its Standards system.'

Geoffrey Clifton Brown, Clive Betts and Neil Gray, ‘We served on the Finance Committee with Chris and we know he is a thoroughly impartial Chair who puts party politics to one side to get the business done.'

Jeremy Hunt, ‘No one has demonstrated greater independence and willingness to go against the flow as an MP than Chris...and this is a role that needs those qualities perhaps more than any other.'

It would be wrong to have a manifesto for the post, as the whole point of the Committee is that the MPs and lay members act as an independent adjudicator on complaints about Members brought to the Independent Commissioner on Standards. Its hallmark must be scrupulous fairness. This is especially true following the work on bullying and harassment done by Dame Laura Cox and Gemma White QC.

However, I believe I have the skills necessary to do a good job on behalf of the House.

• I know the rules inside out, having served as Deputy Leader and Shadow Leader of the House, having been an MP since 2001 and having written a two-volume history of Parliament. As I said when I stood for Speaker, I have a copy of Erskine May by my bedside.
• I was an efficient and impartial chair of the House's Finance Committee from 2017 to 2019.
• As a member of the SCIPSA Committee (which normally accompanies the role) I regularly and repeatedly raised issues on behalf of MPs individually and collectively.
• I have always been scrupulously fair in my dealings with colleagues, regardless of party affiliation, working with others on issues as diverse as acquired brain injury, skin cancer and British relations with Russia.
• I have been through a media maelstrom and I know how important it is for the House – and especially the House's Standards Committee – to act on the basis of evidence and hard facts rather than gossip and surmise.

The MPs on the Standards Committee also constitute the Privileges Committee, which adjudicates on questions such as the arrest of a Member on the parliamentary estate and the attendance or non-attendance of witnesses before select committees – a subject I have studied and written about in considerable depth.

In addition to those who have formally nominated me, I have the support of: Alberto Costa, Alex Davies-Jones, Alex Norris, Andrew Gwynne, Andrew Mitchell, Dr Andrew Murrison, Barbara Keeley, Clive Betts, Damian Collins, Damien Moore, David Davis, David Lammy, Sir Desmond Swayne, Sir Ed Davey, Edward Timpson, Emma Hardy, Feryal Clark, Geoffrey Clifton Brown, James Gray, John McDonnell, Kerry McCarthy, Martin Vickers, Michael Fabricant, Michael Gove, Neil Gray, Nia Griffith, Nick Thomas Symonds, Dr Philippa Whitford, Preet Kaur Gill, Robert Buckland, Simon Hoare, Steve Reed, Stewart Malcolm MacDonald, Tom Tugendhat, Wayne David, Yasmin Qureshi.

Relevant interests declared

Please see Register of Members' Financial Interests 

Yvonne Fovargue MP

Nominated by (own party)

Julie Elliott, Judith Cummins, Gill Furniss, Mrs Emma Llewell-Buck, Rosie Cooper, Mike Kane, Mr Kevan Jones, Sarah Champion, Peter Dowd, Mike Amesbury, Shabana Mahmood, Ms Harriet Harman, Naz Shah, Meg Hillier, Siobhain McDonagh

Nominated by (other parties)

Mr William Wragg, Tracey Crouch, Jim Shannon, Mark Fletcher, Andy Carter

Statement

Following Kate Green's promotion to the frontbench after ably leading the Standards Committee since 2018. I am standing for election as Chair.

There are no current Labour members remaining on the committee but I feel that my experience over the last 10 years as an MP and, prior to that, as a local Citizens Advice Chief Executive and as a councillor, sitting on the Appeals Committee, would assist me in steering this sensitive and complex area.

I have wide experience of working cross party, chairing the APPG on Debt & Personal Finance and leading an enquiry into Rent to Own companies which led to a full review and significant rule changes by the FCA.

Unlike other committees the Standards Committee involves lay members and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and I welcome this opportunity to involve non-Members. It is important that every stakeholder group feels able to be heard and have their expectations clarified and met. I believe that my long experience of working with volunteers, paid staff and lay management committee members would be invaluable.

It is vital that Members of Parliament have confidence in the ability of the committee to engage with a high level of respect, sensitivity and fairness while at the same time always being mindful of the public interest and expectations.

The public, rightly, expect the highest standards of conduct from elected representatives. The Committee's communications strategy should assist being as transparent as possible while at the same time not courting publicity for its own sake. Ultimately, the aim should be to give the public the confidence that the system of self-regulation works fairly and well.

I would wish to continue with the review of sanctions, linking it to the current rules and ensuring fairness and clarity around both so that elected members and the public are clear that the rules are well articulated to members and I would hope to discuss that further, particularly with the cohort of new members elected in 2019.

The reputation of Parliament and Parliamentarians is key to trust in democracy. In these difficult times I would defend and strengthen our system of self-regulation assuring both the public and elected members that the duties of a Member of Parliament are carried out to the highest possible standard.

Relevant interests declared

Please see Register of Members' Financial Interests

Image: PA