Sex pest MPs could be booted out of Parliament under 'tough' new rules
2 min read
MPs accused of sexual harassment could be thrown out of Parliament under plans being considered by a cross-party committee.
The group, set up at the end of last year by Theresa May, is expected to recommend strong sanctions, including MPs facing a forced by-election if they refuse to step down over their behaviour.
The Leader of the House of Commons, Andrea Leadsom, firmly denied suggestions that MPs would only have to apologise to their victims or attend a training course.
Ms Leadsom told the Sunday Times: “Completely contrary to what has been claimed - that we are just going to let MPs off with a ticking off - we are going to put our house in order so that we can say across the workplace that people feel safe, respected and valued and are treated with decency.
“The ambition is enormous and the intention is for this to be a fundamental rethink of the culture of parliament and will therefore require the sanctions to be tough, which is why the parties have had to look at the proposals very carefully.”
Under the proposals, the independent parliamentary commissioner for standards will offer two paths for complainants, one specifically for allegations of sexual harassment and a second for general cases of bullying and abuse.
“Wherever possible the intention will be to reach an informal resolution and not to press the nuclear button every time,” Ms Leadsom said.
“But the proposed system is very robust and will have the teeth it needs to change the culture and make parliament an example to the rest of the world.”
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
