Parliament has come ‘quite some way’ on behaviour, says Lucy Powell
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Parliament has come “quite some way in recent years” in terms of behaviour and culture, the Leader of the House of Commons has said, but there are “definitely things (…) which we could go further on”. Cabinet minister Lucy Powell told the PA news agency that Westminster “definitely had a perception” of a poor working culture but a new cohort of MPs presents an “opportunity to establish better working practices and better standards of culture and behaviour”.
After July’s general election, a total of 335 new MPs arrived in Westminster, more than half of the 650 total bloc, including 214 for Labour. In September, a new Commons modernisation committee set out that overhauling standards would be among its priorities, with MPs’ second jobs also due under the spotlight.
Asked whether she thought Parliament has a behaviour or drinking problem, the MP for Manchester Central said: “We definitely had a perception of sort of bad behaviour, bad culture. I think we’ve come some way in recent years on that, with the establishment of the ICGS (Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme) for example.”.
The ICGS is a mechanism for concerns over bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct in Parliament to be raised, assessed and potentially investigated. “But there’s definitely things coming through on that which we could go further on, that people are still concerned about,” Ms Powell added.
