Every single MP will be investigated
By politics.co.uk staff
All MPs – including Tories and Liberal Democrats – will have their expenses investigated, the prime minister has confirmed.
The plan forms part of increasingly desperate attempts by Gordon Brown to appear as if he is on top of the expenses row which threatened to get out of control today.
Just after he made his announcement, home secretary Jacqui Smith was reported to have resigned ahead of an expected demotion in the Cabinet reshuffle, expected early next week.
The Cabinet agreed to establish a national democratic renewal council (NDRC) today, mainly made up of ministers but occasionally taking advice from experts outside government, to help the government formulate its policy on the issue.
The prime minister’s spokesman said the new body, to meet initially at least twice a week, was necessary to help “restore trust in politics”.
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He said Mr Brown believes “we have to respond to the scale of breakdown in trust. in a similar way to how we had to respond to the breakdown of trust in financial markets”.
The NDRC’s establishment follows the creation of a national economic council (NEC) and will work along the same lines.
Mr Brown’s spokesman added: “What the NEC enabled us to do was put in place the proper machinery of government enabling us to look at these issues in a systematic way, and that’s what we need to do [with constitutional issues].”
Cabinet agreed this morning to push forward with the pre-existing constitutional renewal bill as “a matter of urgency”.
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The bill, which so far has only received its first reading in the Lords, includes among its purposes the aim “to make provision relating to the conduct of members of parliament”.
The prime minister is intending to enact all his recent policies on cleaning up parliament by the Queen’s Speech, and there are even signs the necessary changes could be made before parliament rises for the summer recess.
That would prompt a frantic seven weeks of activity, including a new parliamentary standards authority, the publication of all MPs’ pay and expenses details and a new code of conduct.
Mr Brown has been under intense pressure to respond to a seemingly inevitable drubbing in the polls this Thursday when Britain votes in the local and European elections.
Rumours of a major reshuffle have reached fever pitch, with Ed Balls, currently schools secretary, pegged for the job of chancellor, allowing the prime minister to get rid of Alistair Darling, who has been embroiled in the expenses scandal for the last few days.
Hazel Blears, communities secretary, is also highly likely to be demoted, after the combined effect of her ‘YouTube if you want to’ Observer article and her highly questionable expenses claims, made her position untenable.
There are also reports former home secretary David Blunkett could be invited back to the Cabinet and that Peter Mandelson, currently business secretary, could replace David Miliband at the Foreign Office.
Recent polls have shown the scandal disproportionately affecting the governing party, with weekend surveys showing Labour support at a historic low.
There is serious concern among Labour officials that the party could finish fourth in the European elections – behind the Tories, Lib Dems and Ukip.
In the local elections, most analysts are expecting Labour to lose control of all its county councils.
