A row over family businesses

Analysis
By Nick Assinder
Political correspondent, BBC News website

It is very likely there is no Commons majority in favour of proposals to force MPs to list the employment of family members.

MP Derek Conway was suspended over payments to his son

But it is also virtually certain that the move will be given overwhelming backing when it comes before parliament in the next few weeks.

And that, in itself, gives the clearest indication of the sort of cultural change that is sweeping through Westminster in the wake of the Conway affair.

It is not just the fallout from that affair - which saw the Tory MP accused of misusing his staff allowances to pay his student son - that has prompted this bout of somewhat-reluctant transparency.

It is the accumulation of numerous recent affairs, including police investigations, and the genuine fear that, unless something pretty radical is done, the war of attrition between all sides will escalate, with more and more MPs being dragged into the mud pit and parliament as a whole being the loser.

"Openness and transparency" had already become a mantra adopted by all the parties in what might be called the post-honourable member era.

The suspicion had grown that voters were no longer ready to buy the notion that "honourable members" of parliament could be trusted not to embezzle public funds. Nowadays, MPs have to be seen to be clean.

Whitest of white

But, until now, there had been very little in the way of concrete policies or rule changes to match the words. There had even been attempts to exempt MPs from Freedom of Information laws they had themselves introduced.

Now, however, the standards and privileges committee has decided to take action and require all MPs to list family members who work for them in the register of members' interests.

Speaker Martin has launched his own review of expenses

There are many reasons given by MPs for why this is not a great idea - it suggests there is something wrong about employing family members in the first place and it means denying employees confidentiality.

But none of that outweighs the determination of the party leaders to be seen to be the whitest of the white. So the measure will go through the Commons with little or no trouble.

There is another issue bubbling under this one, however, and it concerns the Speaker Michael Martin who is reaching the end of the traditional period in office but who shows no sign of being ready to stand down.

Bloodies battle

Mr Martin has faced much criticism for launching his own longer-term review of the expenses and allowances system and then populating the inquiry team with "establishment" MPs, some of whom face questions over their own affairs and including Tory David Maclean, who led the move to exempt MPs from Freedom of Information laws.

Mr Martin is also is accused of attempting to stop Tory leader David Cameron forcing his own frontbenchers to declare their employment of family members, and he is said to believe the latest move is also a challenge to his authority.

However, Mr Martin's detractors - including former minister Alan Milburn and Lord Soley - believe he is not acting quickly enough, while others privately claim he is resistant to change and will instinctively move to protect MPs' privileges.

So the bloodiest battle in this affair may not be between parties or MPs and the standards committee, but between MPs and the standards committee and the Speaker.