23 January 2009
By Alex Klaushofer
The government has abandoned plans to force through a controversial vote exempting MPs from the Freedom of Information Act and the obligation to disclose details of their expenses.
The vote – which was to be subject to a three-line whip on January 22 – was shelved after it emerged at Prime Minister's Questions the previous day that the Conservatives would not support it.
The plans to overturn a High Court ruling that 1.2 million receipts be made available to the public were announced by Commons leader Harriet Harman last week. They were condemned by the Committee on Standards in Public Life and freedom of information campaigners alike.
Standards committee chair Sir Christopher Kelly told Public Finance that the attempt to exempt MPs from full transparency looked as if politicians were changing the rules to suit themselves.
'Even if there's nothing sinister going on, as long as they continue to treat themselves differently, there will always be suspicions,' he said.
'The natural position would be for them to be subject to the Freedom of Information Act just like everybody else, so that any departure from it can be justified.'
The standards committee, which had an existing arrangement to meet Harman at the beginning of next month, had considered launching a full-scale inquiry.
Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said that openness about expenses was a requirement across the whole of the public sector, with other workers knowing that their expenses were subject to FoI requests.
He added: 'It puts MPs in an impossible position to be legislating for everybody, and then saying, “these requirements are too difficult for us to meet”.'
The Liberal Democrats said the decision was a 'humiliating climb-down' for Gordon Brown.
Leader Nick Clegg said: 'It is also a victory for everyone who thinks that politicians should be open and accountable to the people who pay their wages.'
PFjan2009
