Stopping MPs’ Expenses Secrecy

In 2007, former Conservative whip David Maclean MP introduced a private members' bill in the House of Commons designed to exempt Members of Parliament - including their expenses - from being subject to the Freedom of Information Act.  The Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill passed through all stages in the House of Commons with the tacit support of the whips on both sides.

Unlock Democracy organised a letter writing campaign via Facebook to members of the House of Lords.  Eventually the Bill fell when it emerged that no peers were willing to sponsor it.

The issue reemerged two years later when Leader of the House of Commons Harriet Harman attempted to exempt MPs by use of a statutory instrument (which is subject to less Parliamentary scrutiny than primary legislation).  Unlock Democracy was able to swiftly leap into action, orchestrating another letter writing campaign alongside MySociety and Public Whip.

Sadly, the story didn't end there.  The parliamentary authorities continued to fail to publish the full list of MPs' expenses.  Eventually, the entire list was leaked to the Daily Telegraph newspaper and resulted in one of the biggest political scandals of the decade.

The whole system of parliamentary expenses has now been overhauled and is now operated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.