TaxPayers' Alliance calls for Real Recall in light of Rifkind and Straw allegations
Responding to reports in the media that two prominent MPs have allegedly been caught in "cash for access" scandals, Andy Silvester, Campaign Director of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:
"Plenty of people will have their say on these allegations in the next few days, but the constituents of the MPs concerned will remain essentially voiceless thanks to the Coalition's failure to deliver real recall powers. It should be for voters, and nobody else, to decide if their MP is fit to represent them in the House of Commons. The politics-as-usual fudge of a Recall Bill currently moving through Parliament will only centralise democratic power in the corridors of Westminster, and all parties should pledge to give voters the say they deserve by putting a true recall mechanism - in which constituents have the most important role, rather than a committee of MPs - in their manifestos. Such a move may well bring an end to these kind of scandals and revelations and begin to rebuild damaged bridges between the electorate and their representatives."