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Corrupt MPs facing recall under reforms
CORRUPT MPs could be recalled by voters under a package of democratic reforms that will also see the end to the hereditary principle in the House of Lords within the next year.
The changes also include a promise for a referendum on changing the Westminster voting system to a form of proportional representation (PR).
Home Secretary Alan Johnson has spearheaded mounting calls for the public to be given a say on whether PR should be used in general elections and Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday there was "now a stronger case than ever" that MPs should be elected with the support of more than half their voters – as they would be under an alternative voting system.
But campaign group Power2010 said Mr Brown had failed to go far enough or quickly enough and political reform was the weakest part of his speech.
In a fresh bid to restore the reputation of Parliament after the expenses scandal, Mr Brown promised a new mechanism to remove MPs.
"Never again should any Member of Parliament be more interested in the value of their allowances than the values of their constituents," he said.
"Never again should it be said of any Member of Parliament that they are in it for what they can get; all of us should be in Parliament for what we can give.
"And so where there is proven financial corruption by an MP and in cases where wrong-doing has been demonstrated but Parliament fails to act we will give constituents the right to recall their Member of Parliament."
Mr Brown repeated his recent promise to bring a full end to the hereditary principle in the House of Lords within the next year but said there would also be a firm commitment to making it an elected chamber.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
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