Most jobs with some degree of public responsibility are regulated by a professional body to ensure honest, safe and ethical representation by members. Examples of this include; airline pilots and the Civil Aviation Authority; doctors and the General Medical Council; vets and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and solicitors and the Solicitors Regulation Authority. 

Having one body to deal with all aspects of professional conduct means there is no chance of poor conduct going unnoticed, which can happen if several different, sometimes non independent, committees and individuals are involved in regulation (the current situation in Parliament). 

Most regulatory bodies exist to protect the public and to promote good standards. UK taxpayers and voters deserve to know the Government will be held to the highest standards. Fairness, honesty and integrity are key principles of regulation. Leaders and those in positions of authority should not be able to evade scrutiny. In a civilised democracy, no one should be above the law.

Regulatory bodies generally have a changing leadership, with independent and varied representation to avoid corruption and to search for the truth. We believe that politics should be no different. 

Currently within government it is deemed acceptable for an MP's employee to be tasked with investigating their employer's possible misconduct. In recent investigations, information has not even passed between the multiple committees and individuals tasked with regulating various aspects of conduct across Parliament. True independence, cross party and lay representation, with statutory powers to act on poor conduct, is needed to bring politics into the 21st century, where dishonesty and abuse of power is no longer acceptable. The public deserves full honesty and disclosure on all matters relating to how their taxes are spent and how their leadership governs itself. 

We propose that all political parties would incorporate the idea of a statutory regulatory body for politicians into their existing manifesto and that the Government themselves would begin a discussion, in particular with existing UK regulatory bodies, to look to create a Political Regulatory Council with;

1) one code of conduct covering all aspects of their work;

2) a statutory requirement for politicians, including those in government, to follow this code;

3) an understanding that disciplinary action will be taken when the code is not followed. 

So many voters currently feel a sense of powerlessness about the current political system. Many people do not even exercise their right to vote (approximately one third of the eligible UK population didn't vote in the last General Election) because they feel that, no matter who wins an election, dishonest behaviour is likely to occur once a political party is voted into power. If politics was regulated by one independent body, with powers to discipline members, then the public could move towards trusting politicians and trusting our current system of democracy. 

This petition aims to empower and unite the British people to tell the Government and Parliament that the current system of regulation of politics and government does not work and a better, more unified and independent system is required. We would like to see a proper and ongoing debate in parliament on the principles outlined and a commitment to reform the current inadequate systems which are in place.