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Johnson’s suggestion for tackling lobbying scandal taken from Senedd’s guidance to members

16 Nov 2021 2 minute read
Westminster Government Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Picture by Annika Haas (CC BY 2.0)

The Prime Minister’s suggestion for how to tackle MPs working second jobs as paid consultants has been lifted from the Senedd’s guidance on lobbying for Senedd Members.

Writing to the speaker of the House of Commons today, Boris Johnson said that “MPs should not accept any paid work to provide services as a parliamentary strategist, adviser or consultant, for example, advising on parliamentary affairs or on how to influence parliament and its members”.

The wording is taken from the Senedd’s guidance on lobbying and access for members, which notes that they “should not accept any paid work to provide services as a parliamentary strategist, adviser or consultant, for example, advising on National Assembly for Wales affairs or on how to influence the National Assembly for Wales and its members”.

The wording arrived in Boris Johnson’s letter via a 2018 report that referred to the standards set by the Senedd in Wales as a model for banning MPs from working as paid consultants.

The Commons Committee on Standards in Public Life’s 2018 report, MPs’ outside interests, recommends following the then Welsh Assembly which has banned members from advising on how to influence parliament.

The report also recommends adopting elements of the codes of conduct of the Scottish Parliament and House of Lords, adding: “We recommend that the House of Commons should be brought in line with this practice.”

Boris Johnson’s surprise announcement came the day before Labour was set to force a vote in the Commons on whether second jobs should be banned completely at Westminster.

It came after Tory poll ratings fell following the Prime Minister’s failed attempt to protect MP Owen Paterson from punishment for a lobbying scandal.

Boris Johnson could however face a showdown with his own MPs who could lose tens of thousands of pounds a year from lucrative advisory work.


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Catherine Hill
Catherine Hill
2 years ago

He’s a cereal cribber, his “works” on Shakespeare, his so-called trade agreements and now this…what kind of fool votes for such an obvious scumbag?

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
2 years ago

What doesn’t this man plagiarise. If Boris Johnson was Pinocchio his nose would be so long we could scrap HS2 and electrify that instead saving billions.. He’s taken lying to a new level, or should I say, levelling-up.

Grayham Jones
2 years ago

Plaid Cymru 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 stop being little Englanders and be proud to be welsh start fighting for your children and grandchildren future in wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 no more second homes in wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 and start fighting for the young people in wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 that can’t get on the housing market because of incomers

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