Parliament corrections inquiry is an important step towards more trustworthy politics
Responding to the House of Commons Procedure Committee announcement of an inquiry into Parliament’s corrections process, Will Moy, chief executive of Full Fact, said:
“This inquiry is welcome recognition by MPs that Parliament’s corrections system is broken. We can’t have honest political debate in this country while the official record remains littered with false or misleading claims.”
“So far this year we’ve seen multiple instances of politicians misleading their colleagues and the public. The current broken system means MPs don't have to correct the things they get wrong and it’s not good enough.”
“We hope today’s announcement can be an important step towards more trustworthy politics.”
Currently, there is no way for an MP who is not a government Minister to correct the official record when they make a mistake in the House of Commons. MPs' mistakes stay on the record. This includes Shadow Ministers and high profile MPs.
The current system for correcting inaccuracies made in Parliament was created in 2007. It allows Ministers to correct Hansard, the official report of parliamentary debates, when they make an inadvertent error in speaking.
The process is out of date. It does not extend to non-ministers and therefore the vast majority of MPs have no official means by which to correct the record.
Over 26,000 people so far have added their name to Full Fact’s campaign for an improved corrections system and better standards of honesty in UK politics. You can join them.