Tory MPs to be challenged to vote to ban second jobs, as Labour piles on pressure over sleaze

Conservative MPs will be challenged to vote to ban second jobs on Wednesday, as Labour piles pressure on Boris Johnson to act on sleaze.

Keir Starmer revealed his party would stage the showdown – and argue for all outside work to be outlawed, except for working in the NHS or other public services.

The vote would be “a measure of where people are on how we now move things forward”, the Labour leader said, but would not be retrospective.

The prime minister has refused to say where he stands on second jobs, despite rising public anger over MPs extra-parliamentary work and a Tory slump in the polls.

Oliver Dowden, the party chair, has again rejected a watchdog’s call for him to lose the power to decide whether ministers are investigated for sleaze.

On LBC Radio, Sir Keir said: “We are going to put to parliament on Wednesday a vote which is going to ask MPs to vote to get rid of paid directorships and paid consultancies – change the rules in parliament.

Labour will also demand that the government publish all the minutes of meetings between the government and Randox, which employed ex-minister Owen Paterson as a consultant.

During the call-in, the Labour leader also:

* Called accusations that he broke Commons rules by using his office for Zoom calls with the public “utter nonsense” – saying: “It’s exactly what the leader of the opposition should be doing.”

* Suggested he saw the outcome of the Cop26 climate summit as a failure – saying: “It didn’t achieve what we needed to achieve.”

* Said the key to curbing cross-Channel migrant crossings was tackling refugee crises, because “if you don’t tackle the issues upstream then you will never fully get to grips with this”.

* Criticised the Insulate Britain group’s tactics in blocking major roads as “completely wrong and counterproductive”.

* Said expelled ex-Labour MP Claudia Webbe should quit parliament following her conviction for harassment – and that he would support a recall petition if she refused.

On second jobs, Sir Keir pointed to Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan, who does shifts as a hospital doctor, and MPs serving as army or police reservists, arguing that should be allowed.

But there was a “strong case” for all other second jobs to go – and no doubt that paid consultancies and directorships should be outlawed.

In a statement he called on the Conservatives to “do the right thing and vote to publish the Randox papers, end dodgy lobbying and show that standards in public life still matter”.

“It was the prime minister’s decisions which has led to this scandal, he has repeatedly failed in his leadership over this issue, and Boris Johnson now has a choice.

“Support Labour’s plan to fix this, or whip his MPs to vote against a ban on dodgy second jobs for MPs and a cover-up on the Owen Paterson scandal.”