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MPs face having to sign 'pre-nup' deals with voters on outside jobs
Joe Murphy and Paul Waugh29.10.09
MPs face having to sign "pre-nup" agreements with voters to declare if they plan to make money from working on the side.
Standards watchdog Sir Christopher Kelly is believed to be urging that all election candidates should have to make a declaration on whether they intend to be full-time MPs or hold part-time jobs and directorships.
Sir Christopher has come under heavy pressure from Labour to give a ruling on whether MPs should be allowed to hold second jobs in future.
The idea of a pre-election declaration appears to be a compromise between those who want part-time jobs banned and others who say that that would drive talented and high-earning individuals out of politics.
The move emerged as fury grew among MPs about the Kelly reforms and the way that they have been leaked. There was also continuing anger at Prime Minister Gordon Brown for decreeing that MPs will not be allowed to vote on the plans.
Meanwhile, dozens of MPs say they will stand down from Parliament at the next election if Sir Christopher axes their "golden parachute" severance payoffs, worth up to £64,000.
Senior MP Sir Stuart Bell told the Standard: "MPs are in an absolute quandary. The leaks have been devastating and many MPs are questioning what their future can be."
He said some were calling for a change in parliamentary hours to get rid of late sittings "to accommodate the Kelly recommendations" which include stripping London MPs of the right to buy a second home.
The Labour MP, a member of the Commons ruling committee, also warned of a hardening mood at Westminster against the reforms package: "Because of the leaks, Sir Christopher Kelly's committee is discrediting itself and making his recommendations less credible."
Among the rumoured swingeing cutbacks in MPs' perks and allowances are a ban on mortgage interest claims, scrapping first class tickets on planes and trains, abolishing the £10,000 communications allowance and ending a £25 a day subsistence allowance. Most MPs would be allowed to rent a home or stay in a hotel.
One Labour MP said: "If the severance payments are phased out after this election, I will lose more than £60,000 that is currently in my contract. We are facing years in opposition and it makes me wonder if it is really worthwhile to remain as an MP for another parliament. I could retire now on a full pension with the £60,000 and the only people who would lose out are my constituents, who benefit from my experience."
Another MP said: "If we lose every allowance going, the career of being an MP will begin to be very unappealing to people. It is a lot of hard work and late hours, made worthwhile by a feeling that what you do is important. If we are made to feel like criminals, I'm off."
Veteran Tory Sir Nicholas Winterton, who is retiring, attacked Sir Christopher. He said: "How much is he paid? What's his civil service payment? How many jobs does he do? Why is he to dictate?
"What experience does he have of being an MP, the hours worked, the costs? He is determined to hit MPs on the head and undermine them."
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