Westminster Accounts: SNP demands ‘root-and-branch’ reform of MPs’ outside earnings following project
The “scandal” of MPs’ earnings from second jobs and donations exposed by Sky News’ Westminster Accounts project “needs to end” through “root-and-branch” reform, the SNP has said.
The party’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn told Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates that the findings of the investigation should “ring alarm bells for everyone” and demonstrate that a “complete overhaul” of the rules is required.
Describing the situation as “not acceptable”, Mr Flynn said “everything needs to be on the table” when it comes to reform, adding: “We need to have transparency in public life.”
On Sunday, Sky News and Tortoise Media launched a new database of MPs’ outside earnings – the first time they have all been collated in one place.
According to Sky News’ analysis of the MPs’ register of financial interests, 38 MPs have taken on second jobs where the ultimate party paying them is unclear.
While 14 MPs have been given more than £250,000 each towards their campaigns and causes.
The investigation also discovered that nobody had heard of a company donating hundreds of thousands to Labour MPs on a visit to its registered address.
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Mr Flynn told Sky News that the project has highlighted that “the Westminster system is broken and corrupt”, with MPs earning millions outside of their parliamentary day jobs.
After asking Rishi Sunak a question on former prime minister Boris Johnson’s outside earnings at PMQs earlier today, Mr Flynn has now written to the current PM calling for him to introduce robust legislation to tighten the rules.
The SNP’s Westminster leader’s demands include:
• a ban on “dark money donations”
• a block on MPs from taking second jobs that involve “a considerable time commitment or conflict of interest”
• tightened restrictions and full transparency on outside earnings
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SNP MP questions PM on Westminster Accounts
‘This is the expenses scandal all over again’
Mr Flynn told Sky News that the revelations uncovered by the Westminster Accounts project will be “of huge concern to the public”.
“We are all public servants, we serve the public – and if the public don’t know why we are doing what we are doing or who is funding us that is deeply concerning,” the SNP’s Westminster leader said.
He continued: “But if we are going to have transparency in British politics, we need to get to the bottom of this and ultimately Westminster needs reform.”
Mr Flynn added: “And we should also broaden that discussion out to whether MPs should be spending as much time as they are on second jobs when, in reality, they are members of parliament there to legislate.
“It is pretty clear cut to me that we should be putting out duties in parliament first.”
Mr Flynn said he was “sceptical” that change will happen, describing Mr Sunak as being “ambivalent” to the idea earlier on Wednesday.
In a statement, the SNP’s Westminster leader added: “This is the MP expenses scandal all over again.”
Opposition parties attempt pincer movement to pressure Sunak into rule change
The intervention from Stephen Flynn, leader of the third biggest party in parliament, suggests there is something of a pincer movement going on.
One by one, opposition party leaders are embracing – to an increasing degree – the idea that there needs to be some kind of change as a result of the Westminster Accounts that have been published by Sky News and Tortoise Media.
But what is interesting is that the person most bullish in their demand for change is actually a Conservative – Lord Pickles. He matters because he is a former cabinet minister who was in office in the aftermath of the expenses scandal and now heads a government ethics watchdog.
His powerful case for change, delivered in an interview with Sky News on Tuesday, has really kicked off this debate. It is notable that it has been opposition MPs, perhaps most robustly led by the new SNP leader today, adopting the charge as well.
But it is worth looking closely at what the Tories are doing because, ultimately, there are more of them than any other party in the Commons. That means if there is going to be change they need to be on board.
Rishi Sunak likes to talk about the importance of transparency, and that is the government line right now. But beneath the surface, he knows that change is hard. He cannot risk another battle with his own party on top of the many that have fractured the Conservatives in the course of this bruising parliament.
Boris Johnson tried to take on his backbenchers on the subject of second jobs but abandoned serious reform early in 2022. Another fight over changes to the rules and a greater drive to transparency at this point looks unlikely.
So while government ministers come on Sky News and commend the principle of transparency, as yet no government minister will actually engage with any detail on the question of reform.
That is why the issue is stuck. It does not mean there is no way out in this parliament – pressure will build the more problems people find in the way that money works in politics. But it could well be that serious change can only come after the next general election.
Senior politicians react to Sky News’ Westminster Accounts project
Earlier this week, the prime minister said there was a reason that “rules and regulations” are in place surrounding donations to MPs after the Westminster Accounts project launched.
Mr Sunak said: “I think transparency is really important for the healthy functioning of democracy, it’s absolutely right that there’s disclosures around donations and outside interests. And transparency is a good thing, and I fully support it.”
However, he did not answer when asked whether it was right that some MPs are being given six-figure donations.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told Sky News that the information will help people make more informed decisions at the ballot box.
“People should know what income their MPs are receiving, what funding they have for their political campaigns. I think it’s really helpful that you have put that information together so people can make a judgement at the ballot box as to whether MPs are behaving the way they want,” he said.
Asked about the prospect of reforms, he insisted the UK has one of the most transparent systems “in the world”.
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‘We have a lot of transparency’ – chancellor
‘It wouldn’t take much to just sort this out’
But the chair of parliament’s ethics watchdog said the Westminster Accounts project has shown that MPs should be forced to exercise more “due diligence” over donations.
Praising the investigation, Lord Pickles told Sky News that MPs should have to know and declare a named individual as the originator of a donation, even if the funds come from a company.
“It wouldn’t take very much to just to sort this out,” said Lord Pickles, who is the chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.
He added that it “wouldn’t be unreasonable to put together some guidelines for MPs to be able to answer some just very basic questions”.
While Labour’s Chris Bryant posted on social media: “I welcome Sky News and Tortoise’s work making information that is already in the public domain more readily accessible.”
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Earlier today, Sky News’ Westminster Accounts project revealed all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) have received over £20m worth of funding from external organisations since the 2019 general election, with registered lobbying agencies dominating the ranks of biggest benefactors.
APPGs are informal interest groups of MPs and peers that facilitate cross-party work on an issue, a country or a sector, but the chair of one of Westminster’s ethics watchdogs has told Sky News they could represent “the next big scandal”.
World
Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
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The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
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‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike
Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
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