Members' Financial Interests (Hansard, 28 October 1970)

§ 26. Mr. William Hamilton
asked the Lord President of the Council if he will now make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy on the recommendations of the Select Committee's Report on Members' Financial Interests.

§ Mr. Whitelaw
I am sure that the House is indebted to the Committee for its statement of the principles which should guide the conduct of Members. This I gladly endorse. But the Resolutions proposed by the Committee have defects which I can see no means of curing and I could not recommend them to the House.

§ Mr. Hamilton
Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that it would be far better to have a debate on the Floor of the House on this matter, as I believe he promised before we rose for the Summer Recess? Is it not more urgent now, in view of the fact that the House consists of many more Tories with outside business interests, including farmers on the Front Bench who will get a share of the £54 million extra which was given to the farmers recently? In view of that fact, is it not desirable that the public should know exactly what outside business interests Members have, and is it not very important that this report should be debated by the House at the earliest opportunity?

§ Mr. Whitelaw
I am not aware that I gave a promise to debate this report. I shall check my words, and if I did give such a promise, I shall fulfil it. As to the Resolutions proposed by the Committee, one of the troubles that the House must face is that that formula would certainly mean that any Member sponsored by a trade union would not be able to talk on matters concerned with trade unions—and I do not think that that would be in the general interest of the House.

§ Sir Harmar Nicholls
Will my right hon. Friend take care that he is not infected by the spleen evinced by the hon. Member on this matter? If the attitude that the hon. Member adopts is presented in any rigid form it will ruin Parliament. Members' outside interests are known to their constituents at the time of the election—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. As the hon. Member himself said yesterday, he must put a question.

§ Sir Harmar Nicholls
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Their outside interests often make them much better Members, and the spleenful attempts that the hon. Gentleman is making to find something sordid in this is not helpful to Parliament.

§ Mr. Whitelaw
I should make it clear to my hon. Friend and to the House that I fully accept the general statement of principles set out by the Select Committee. I think that they are acceptable to the House as a whole. My only quarrel is with the specific Resolutions. I am advised that they would have the sort of consequences that I suggested. I think it is clear what we all want. When hon. Members speak or advocate causes as long as it is known what are their general outside interests, that is right. That is what we all owe to the House, and I believe that it must rest on the good sense of Members to provide it.