Ban jeering in parliament to end ‘old boy’s club’ culture, report suggests
Booing and jeering should be banned in the House of Commons to create a more “respectful” environment, a report has suggested.
Job sharing for MPs – where two people represent a constituency instead of one – should also be considered to allow more women to be elected to parliament.
At the 2024 general election, 263 women were elected to the House of Commons out of a total of 650 MPs. At 40%, it was the highest-ever proportion of women MPs – but below the 51% needed to reflect the national male-female split.
The report, by 50:50 Parliament and Compassion in Politics, called for a “reset” of the culture in Westminster, which it likened to an “old boys club” where abuse and intimidating behaviour are commonplace.
It said Prime Minister’s Questions, the weekly slot where the prime minster is quizzed by the leader of the Opposition, resembled a “school playground”, which “undermined” the authority of MPs while potentially putting people off politics.
It said an immediate ban on booing and jeering would be “totemic” and would help provide a good example of behaviour to the public.
Meanwhile, job sharing for MPs – previously suggested by the Green Party and former Labour MP John McDonnell – would foster a greater work-life balance.
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The findings come after Sky News reported last month that newly elected MPs were struggling to set up offices in their constituencies due to fears for their safety and spiralling rents.
Several MPs who spoke to Sky News said they believed landlords were becoming increasingly reluctant to have them as tenants due to the perceived risks that came with the job – including threats of vandalism and protests.
They said that as a result, they felt less able to be visible in their communities and to their constituents.
As part of the report, which has the support of former home secretary Amber Rudd and Labour’s former head of communications, Alastair Campbell, the 132 MPs who stood down at the last election were handed a survey, to which only 24 responded.
Of those who responded, one in three said the levels of abuse they received as an MP had been a factor in deciding to resign, while another third cited the impact the role has had on their mental well-being.
Over half said they needed to step down because of the impact the job had on their family life – including fear for their well-being, safety and the safety of others.
The constituency office of Labour MP Jo Stevens was vandalised last year.
One former MP and minister told the researchers they had a nervous breakdown during their time in parliament.
“It’s been the most extreme experience of my life,” they said.
“The highs are wonderful. The lows are miserable. There’s very little in between. The collapse of public respect makes it an impossible job for the MP and their family. I had a nervous breakdown after my candidacy and again as a minister.”
Another former MP described parliament as an “uncontrolled playground of abuse”.
“Parliament is still run like a gentleman’s club, but the standards of the 19th century gentleman have disappeared.
“Bullying and manipulation are normalised and expected. And there are far too many staffers learning bad habits like drinking at work. The whole palace is out of control and the most depressing place I’ve ever worked.”
Other recommendations put forward by the report include that there should be a ban on lying in parliament as a means to improve the public’s trust in politicians, which it said was at an “all-time low”.
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It cited a number of scandals that have damaged the public’s perception of politicians, including partygate, the 2010 expenses scandal and the instances where MPs have been accused of or found guilty of sexual abuse or bullying, harassment and intimidation.
More recently, Labour has been rocked by rows over freebies, with the party now leading the Conservatives by just one point, according to a poll published last month.
The report also suggested a review of the whipping system in parliament – the means by which MPs are encouraged and persuaded to vote along party lines and follow the leadership’s orders – to “root out bullying”.
The report will be handed to parliament’s modernisation committee, which was promised in Labour’s manifesto and is tasked with reforming House of Commons procedures and driving up standards.
Sky News can reveal that the government has rowed back on a national compensation scheme for victims of child sexual abuse, despite it being promised under the previous Conservative administration.
Warning – this story contains references to sexual and physical abuse
A National Redress Scheme was one of 20 key recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), but a Home Office report reveals the government has scrapped it because of the cost.
Marie, who is 71, suffered alleged sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at Greenfield House Convent in St Helens, Merseyside, between 1959 and 1962, and is still fighting for compensation.
Greenfield House Convent, where Marie says she was abused
As soon as she arrived as a six-year-old, Marie says her hair was cut off, her name changed, and she experienced regular beatings from the nuns and students.
She claims a nun instigated the violence, including when Marie was held down so that her legs were “spread-eagled” as she was sexually abused with a coat hanger.
Merseyside Police investigated claims of abuse at the convent, but in 2016, a suspect died before charges could be brought.
Marie has received an apology from the Catholic body that ran the home; she tried to sue them, but her claim was rejected because it was filed too long after the alleged abuse.
Marie, 71, is still fighting for compensation for the abuse she says she suffered as a child
In February, ministers said the law would change for victims of sexual abuse trying to sue institutions for damages, which was a recommendation from the IICSA.
Previously, people had to make a civil claim before they were 21, unless the victim could prove a fair trial could proceed despite the time lapse.
Campaigners argued for the time limit to be removed as, on average, victims wait 26 years to come forward. Changes to the 1980 Limitation Act could lead to more people making claims.
Peter Garsden, President of The Association of Child Abuse Lawyers
Civil cases ‘can take three to five years’
But Peter Garsden, president of the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers, worries that when it comes to historical abuse where the defendant is dead, institutions will still argue that it is impossible to have a fair trial and will fight to have the case thrown out of court.
Mr Garsden said it takes “between three and five years” for a civil case to get to trial.
He warned that claimants “can end up losing if you go through that process. Whereas the Redress Scheme would be quicker, much more straightforward, and much more likely to give justice to the victims”.
Victim awarded £10 compensation
Jimbo, who was a victim of abuse at St Aidan’s children’s home in Cheshire, took his case to the High Court twice and the Court of Appeal three times, but, after 13 years, all he ended up with was £10 for his bus fare to court.
Despite the Lord Justice of Appeal saying he believed that the abuse had occurred, Jimbo lost his claim because of the time limit for child sexual abuse claims to be made.
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Neither Marie nor Jimbo is likely to benefit from the removal of the time limit for personal injury claims, which is why Mr Garsden is calling on the government to implement a National Redress Scheme for victims of sexual abuse, as recommended by the IICSA.
Hundreds of millions paid to victims
The governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland have set up compensation schemes and paid hundreds of millions of pounds to victims.
In 2023, the then Conservative government said a similar scheme would be organised for England and Wales.
But the Home Office admitted in its Tackling Child Sexual Abuse: Progress Update that it “is not currently taking forward any further steps on the IICSA proposal for a separate, national financial redress scheme for all survivors of child sexual abuse”.
“In the current fiscal environment, this recommendation is very difficult to take forward,” it added.
For victims, the scheme was the last chance of compensation for a lifetime blighted by abuse.
“The money is about justice and about all the other people who have had to suffer this abuse,” Marie said.
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