Westminster is the first parliament anywhere in the world to so comprehensively try to tackle bullying, harassment and sexual harassment with its new code of conduct, but Kate Maltby and Ava Etemadzadeh (MPs must end the culture of harassment, 17 July) are correct: there’s still a risk that self-interest and party political influence could scupper further progress.
As a member of the working group developing parliament’s new policies and procedures, I have seen first-hand how risk averse the bigger parties in particular are when it comes to reparations and sanctions for individuals bringing historic cases. And while some voluntary training is now available, mandatory training for MPs in consent and how to be a good employer is being delayed until after the next election. This is apparently on the grounds that nobody knew they’d have to participate in such training when they stood for election. Well frankly, nobody knew they’d be expected to put up with groping or furniture being thrown at them when they applied to work in Westminster.
There’s also been resistance to making the final stage of the new system fully independent. So it will still be MPs that decide on whether or not colleagues found guilty of the most serious complaints will face recall – the process of triggering a byelection if that’s what voters choose.
There’s no doubt, despite these ongoing challenges, that we have come a long way – at the start there was virtually no understanding of why sexual harassment was different to bullying, for example, and that’s now fully accepted. But there’s vital work still to be done. A culture of mutual respect and accountability benefits everyone and all the political parties need to wake up to that, across the board, if we want Westminster to truly lead by example.
Caroline Lucas MP
Green, Brighton Pavilion
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters
