BBC News 1 May 2022
Senior MPs have called for a drastic overhaul of Westminster, following a series of sexual misconduct and bullying claims about politicians.
House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said "radical action" and a review of working practices was needed.
And former leader of the House Dame Andrea Leadsom backed setting up a human resources department.
Multiple claims of bullying and sexual misconduct have emerged in recent weeks, culminating on Saturday in the resignation of MP Neil Parish, after he admitted to having twice watched pornography in Parliament.
He told the BBC it had been a "moment of madness" and what he had done "was absolutely, totally wrong".
Mr Parish's resignation will trigger a by-election in his constituency of Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, which is a safe Conservative seat.
Among those calling for change is Ms Leadsom, the former leader of the Commons, who in 2018 spearheaded the creation of the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), which looks into claims of bullying and sexual harassment. Mr Parish's case had also been referred to the ICGS.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, she said she believed the ICGS was still fit for purpose, but it had not been able to employ enough specialist investigators.
"Things haven't changed and that's because there aren't enough cases coming through and it's taking too long for investigations to come to an end," she said.
"It's only when you see people being blind drunk and subject to the appropriate sanctions that people will start to think twice about their behaviour."
Ms Leadsom said Parliament should set up a human resources department for staff.
Meanwhile, writing in the Observer, Sir Lindsay said he wanted to ensure Parliament was a "safe and inclusive" place to work and people felt supported, and that serious allegations must be addressed as a "matter of urgency".
He also questioned whether MPs should be employers of their own staff and asked whether an outside body or other alternative could act as employer, as long as the MP was able to choose their staff.
This proposal would mean new staff being "employed on standard terms and conditions", he said.
Sir Lindsay wrote: "Some serious allegations have been made, and we must address them as a matter of urgency. It is imperative we do the right thing by staff and MPs as well."
He added that work was under way to establish a Speaker's Conference - a cross-party investigation into the issues involved - as soon as possible.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News his party was "happy to participate in that", adding: "There's a cultural issue that we have to get to grips with. Cultural change has to be led and modelled from the top."
And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey told BBC One's Sunday Morning that Parliament collectively had to "step on this misogyny and sexism".
"It sends the wrong signal," he added. "We need to make women and girls considering coming into politics know that they will feel safe and respected."
Meanwhile, Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden repeated a commitment from Boris Johnson to ensure half of Conservative candidates standing in the next election are women.
He told the Sunday Telegraph the Tories needed to ensure their candidate list "reflects the fact that half the population are women". About a quarter of Conservative candidates at the 2019 election were women, while more than half of Labour candidates were women.
'Things haven't changed'
Behaviour at Westminster has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks, with three cabinet ministers reportedly among 56 MPs facing allegations of sexual misconduct referred to the ICGS.
At the beginning of April, Conservative MP David Warburton was suspended from the party pending an investigation into alleged sexual harassment.
Labour former cabinet minister Liam Byrne is due to be suspended for two days from the Commons for bullying a former staff member.
And Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan resigned from Parliament after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
