Gordon Brown sets out reform of politics and Parliament and insists he will not quit

Gordon Brown outlined his plan to clean up politics and fight the recession today as he made plain he had no intention of quitting as Labour leader.

The Prime Minister said directly he would reject any move from within the Cabinet to persuade him to stand down.

Facing a potential wipeout in this week’s county elections and a drubbing in the European elections on the same day, Mr Brown used a BBC interview to insist he would fight on regardless.

He set out his programme for cleaning up expenses and extending it to all public institutions. He promised a constitutional reform Bill in the autumn which would introduce a statutory code of conduct for MPs. For the longer term he did not rule out changing the electoral system.

Mr Brown said he would refuse to move aside even if senior Labour figures told him it would help the party retain seats as a general election, arguing that his focus was on tackling the recession and pushing through a programme of constitutional reform.

A poll today put Labour in third place behind the Tories and the Liberal Democrats for the first time in 22 years, while David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, used a newspaper article to call for a "new approach to politics".

But asked on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show whether he would stand aside if Cabinet members said it would help Labour's chances at a general election, Mr Brown replied: "No, because I am dealing with the issues at hand. I am dealing with the economy every day."

Having set out his plans for constitutional reform, the Prime Minister added: "I am dealing with the issues, and I am also dealing... with these constitutional issues.

"I am leading a debate on that but it has got to be thought through. It cannot be gimmicks. It's got to be serious, it has got to be ordered, and it has got to done in a calm way."

Speaking amid further embarrassing revelations of expense claims, including one Labour MP's bid to get back a £5 church donation from the taxpayer, the PM expressed his shock.

"What I have seen offends my Presbyterian conscience, what I have seen is something that is appalling," he said.
I did not expect to see instances where there are clear cases which maybe have to be answered to for fraud."

And he hinted that an independent review of the pay and perks system would call for a ban on controversial "golden handshake" pay-offs for MPs who stand down.

Asked if he would block the controversial compensation, Mr Brown said: “I don’t think that when the Kelly Committee reports that this thing will still be like it is.”

He went on: “Every MP will go through a ’star chamber’ if you like. Every MP will got through a process where their receipts and expenses will be examined in detail for the last four years.
“Where there is wrongdoing, it will be exposed; where people need to be punished they will be punished where repayment needs to be made it will be made."

Setting out plans for a Constitutional Reform Bill, he said it would include "a clause which sets out the responsibilities, a code of conduct for MPs.

"Then we will set up an independent external body that will manage these things from now on.

"We need an open, transparent democracy where all these things are above board. And if I may say so, it doesn't just affect the House of Commons, it affects the House of Lords and it may affect all public institutions that receive taxpayers' money.

"People want to know that where taxpayers' money is involved, the right decisions are being made. That is the clean up that has got to start immediately.

"It will have to affect public institutions, including the health service and all sorts of other institutions including, I suspect the BBC."

Mr Brown also hinted at plans to set up a National Democratic Council to head the march for reform, suggesting it would include outside experts and other parties as well as ministers.

Mr Brown said “quite major and surgical constitutional changes” were necessary to make politics more accountable and better protect people’s rights.

These could include fixed parliamentary terms, a written constitution, voting reforms, extending Freedom of Information and further House of Lords modernisation.

“These are the issues that are now on the agenda because it’s about Parliament’s accountability to the people,” Mr Brown said.

“We will be the reforming party on the constitution. It’s always where I have wanted to be.”

Source:The times