Exclusive: Calls for urgent reform after figures show almost half of donations since 2010 given in last two years
John Bercow at Wimbledon on men's finals day in 2019. The former speaker of the House of Commons declared 82 gifts, 32 of which were tickets to tennis matches.John Bercow at Wimbledon on men's finals day in 2019. The former speaker of the House of Commons declared 82 gifts, 32 of which were tickets to tennis matches.
The data has prompted calls for a swift reform of the rules, including strengthening the requirements surrounding ministers’ gifts and requesting more information from MPs declaring larger amounts. Any reforms would be made through the modernisation committee, which was established earlier this month and is chaired by the Commons leader, Lucy Powell.
“I don’t think if somebody is given a ticket for a football match it’s likely to influence their policymaking decisions,” Graham said. “The scale of the freebie I think is important. The larger amount, the more likely the organisation or individual is going to seek some benefit from it. We perhaps need a threshold above which more detail is given.
Taking into account the relative size of the parliamentary parties, Conservative MPs declared more gifts on average than Labour MPs between 2010 and 2022, at which point Labour MPs started receiving more than their Tory colleagues.
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