Liberal Democrats Protect Political Transparency

Commenting on the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill being debated in the House of Commons today, Paul Holmes, Liberal Democrat MP for Chesterfield said:

"The Liberal Democrats are today attempting to stop this stake through the heart of the Freedom of Information Act.

"This underhand Bill would fundamentally undermine Parliament's transparency. Democratic institutions have an obligation to be accountable and the right to information is a key part of this.

"However, many Labour and Conservative MPs voted against the Liberal Democrat amendments to the Bill last month. 32 of the MPs supporting the exemption of Members of Parliament from the Freedom of Information Act are senior members of the Labour Government and the Conservatives.

"Only the Liberal Democrats have consistently blocked this attempt to remove the public's right to know about MPs' activities.

"Unlike Labour and the Tories we do not believe that there should be one law for MP's and a different law for everyone else."