House of Commons speaker John Bercow calls on political parties to tackle 'disturbing' sexual harassment allegations

The House of Commons Speaker has called for
change at Westminster amid what he called
"disturbing" allegations about a "culture of sexual
harassment".
John Bercow challenged political parties to "live up to
their responsibilities" in tackling the issue.
He said Theresa May's call for a Commons-wide
mediation service and contractually-binding grievance
procedure for MPs and staff should be considered.
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In a statement to MPs, he stressed: "In the first
instance I hope that parties will live up to their
responsibilities, demonstrating both an appetite for
change and a practical means of delivering that
change without delay.
"Make no mistake, there is a need for change."
Mr Bercow called on the Commons Standards
Committee to beef up the code of conduct for MPs to
include a new rule that "a member must treat all
those who work in Parliament with dignity, courtesy
and respect", as recommended by the Parliamentary
Commissioner for Standards.
The Speaker said he would invite the Commons
Commission, which in 2014 provided a helpline for
MPs' staff to raise concerns, to consider what further
measures it could take to toughen up the complaints
regime.
And he said he would refer "the whole issue of sexual
harassment" to the Commons Reference Group on
Representation and Inclusion, which he established
last year.
But he stressed: "Members' staff are of course
employed by individual Members. That means that
they cannot simply be treated as if they were
parliamentary employees. Nor of course can
Members."
Mr Bercow said he was glad to see the Prime
Minister, Jeremy Corbyn and other leaders
acknowledge their responsibilities to deal with sexual
misconduct within their parties.
He said the PM's Sunday letter had "very candidly"
admitted "the difficulties the Conservative Party has
had in introducing the sort of mandatory grievance
scheme which some other parties have introduced in
recent years".
The Speaker went on: "It does not require my
intervention for the party to adopt an effective
grievance scheme.
"I hope that all parties will rapidly and thoroughly
review the arrangements they have in place to ensure
that they are credible, enforceable, accessible,
transparent and comprise an independent element.
"That latter notion that any complaint system and
grievance procedure must satisfy constituents as well
as colleagues strikes me as important."
Mr Bercow added: "I hope I have the support of the
House in calling for these issues to be resolved swiftly
and decisively. It should not require endless debate
and discussion. For my part as Speaker I am happy to
do whatever I can. Others must do likewise."

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