Two new Bills have been proposed by Labour, if they go through it’s a major step towards limiting the possibility of corruption.
They are as followed: The Prohibition of Second Jobs Bill, stopping MP’s from taking on multiple jobs leading to the possibility of being paid to forward particular viewpoints, in addition to the tragedy when there are 1.78 million unemployed MP’s who are supposed to set an example are working multiple jobs, the bill also states there will be an exception for key worker roles.
The Nolan Principles are a set of ethical standards for people who serve the public in the United Kingdom. Lord Nolan set out the principle in 1995 through the Committee of Standards in Public Life.
The Public Office of Accountability Bill, making MP’s more accountable in the wake of disasters such as Hillsbourough and Grenfell, and stopping the government from just assuming a defensive posture rather than a genuine exploration of the facts, whilst focusing on the seven Nolan Principles of Public Life, selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
In addition to these bills, there has been a debate in the House of Lords regarding Democratic Accountability, Citizen Participation and Electoral Reform in relation to Local Government. Citizen Participation will force members of the second chamber to mandatory attend a set amount of times, with a mandatory threshold proposed of 20% else the members will lose their seat in the House of Lords.
We in the Equality Party Support these and feel they’re a massive step towards creating a genuine fair society, which is what the Equality Party stands for.
The biggest danger to any democracy, is the rise of undemocratic forces. Authoritarians are kept at bay in a healthy body politic, but when the trust in politicians is broken, the very real threat of extremism takes hold with promises of easy fixes and happy futures. If as a society we can build trust in our democratic institutions, we can weather the storm of uncertainty that we are all currently sailing through.
This article was written by Grant Foxon, Equality Party member.
