Case for a Civil Service Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 2:05 pm on 21 January 2004.

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Photo of Tony Wright Tony Wright Labour, Cannock Chase 2:05, 21 January 2004

I am delighted by what the Minister has said, and I am glad that the Bill that we have produced has kick-started the process.

The Government have the opportunity to be the first to enshrine key governing principles in legislation. That will have huge symbolic and practical importance, and it will make a major contribution to strengthening the public trust in our political system that we all recognise is so important.

This issue is a huge challenge for Parliament and, indeed, for all the political parties. Those who have supported the proposed Bill have done so on the basis that it could be an agreed measure, free from the normal party dog-fight, and I hope that that is the spirit in which the Opposition support it today and in which the Government will respond. In fact, it is a condition of the measure's success.