An e-mail today from Baroness Ros Scott, Liberal Democrat Party President :Dear Fraser,
Earlier this week the Federal Executive met. A discussion on expenses was at the top of our agenda. Nick Clegg and I proposed a series of hard hitting points on expenses that were fully discussed and agreed by the committee. Given the importance of this issue I felt it was important that all members are made aware of the action we are taking.
In summary we agreed that:
1. There will be a code of conduct binding on Liberal Democrat parliamentarians and candidates.
2. All Liberal Democrat MPs will support the proposals from Sir Christopher Kelly's review of MPs' expenses. There will be no picking and choosing of which of his recommendations to support.
3. Our leader and Chief Whip in the House of Lords will undertake a thorough review of expenses and allowances in the House of Lords.
4. We will end the self-regulation of Parliament.
5. Any Liberal Democrat MP found to have committed serious wrongdoing will have the whip withdrawn and be referred by the party to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
This is in addition to the very rigorous internal disciplinary procedures that already exist within our parliamentary parties, overseen by the Chief Whips.
It is very clear that on this issue, as on that of the Speaker and the Gurkhas, our party is the one taking the lead on calling for the radical overhaul our political system needs.
Best wishes,
Ros Scott
President of the Liberal Democrats
You can read my party's Federal Executive's statement in full by clicking on the headline above.
Clearly, the media attention on expenses is now turning to councillors - the City Council's Chief Executive yesterday advised Dundee City Councillors that there were already two Freedom of Information requests from journalists seeking details of Dundee councillors' expenses. As I have previously indicated, mine have totalled nil since my election in 2001, so a rather boring story there ...