MPs’ wages ‘should be docked if they shun sexism training’
MPS SHOULD face having their pay docked if they fail to complete new training developed after the Westminster abuse and bullying scandal, the Commons has heard.
Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas said the threat of withholding pay and allowances from their £76,011 basic annual salary might persuade some MPs to undertake training.
A cross-party working group chaired by Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom earlier this month recommended the establishment of a Parliament-wide behaviour code as well as an independent complaints procedure and confidential helplines to report abuse.
It also recommended the development of “comprehensive” training to help MPs, peers and staff on the parliamentary estate “understand and prevent” harassment – including sexual harassment – bullying and discrimination.
Mandatory training should be introduced in the next Parliament, the group added, while records of those who have completed the recommended training in the current Parliament should be publicly available.
MPs approved the new policy without a vote.
Ms Lucas told the debate that “every single peer and every single MP must learn about consent, about bullying, to understand the power that they hold and the weight of their actions”.
She added: “Crucially, I do believe, sadly, that this training does need to be accompanied by a system of financial penalties imposed on those who fail to cooperate, as has been recommended by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, and could include withholding pay and allowances.”
The news comes as campaigners submitted a dossier to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, detailing allegations from dozens of women who claim to have suffered sexual harassment, abuse or intimidation within the party.
The 43 anonymous cases in the LabourToo report cover women describing themselves as party staff, activists, politicians and candidates complaining of behaviour ranging from inappropriate touching to rape. It came as a separate report found that a quarter of MPs said they were personally aware of sexual harassment or abuse in Parliament.
Every single peer and every single MP must learn about consent Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas