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Mr Prior's suggestion to the 1922 Committee that the Government are considering proposing to the Labour Party that a voluntary register of members' sources of earned income be kept has nothing to recommend it, whatever view be taken on the principles of the matter. Mr Powell has taken the high Parliamentarian line, as he more than any other is entitled to do, apparently arguing that a member of Parliament is innocent (in this case of presumed corruption) until he is proved guilty. However, in what way would the keeping of a list of members' sources of income make a member in any way guilty? Neither the making of money nor the possession of great accumulated wealth is a crime in itself, although sometimes the manner of its making or acquisition might appear scandalous. There is plenty of scandalous behaviour which is not criminal and plenty of criminal behaviour which is not scandalous; and, depending upon the state of public opinion and criminal law, there may well be morally corrupt behaviour which is neither scandalous nor criminal. The fact is that the Government believes that the public is of the opinion that there is corruption in public life, that the way some fortunes are made is scandalous, and that it would be politically prudent for the Conservative Government to look as if it was doing something energetic to clean up a lot of dirt.
What Mr Prior is about has to do with Mr Heath's phrase about the unacceptable face of capitalism "; and if it were not for the Conservative Party's genuine fear that its connections with big business might prove to be electorally damaging, it is difficult to imagine a Tory government being really serious about setting up a register of the kind suggested by Mr Prior.
There is, however, a case to be made for a register (as suggested by the Liberal Party), which is compulsory, and which would disclose not only the amount and source of all income but the amount of capital possessea, Jeneficially, by each and every Member of Parliament. This would indeed subject MPs to very great public scrutiny and many of them would find the process extremely distasteful; but the good name of Parliament, as Mr Powell very well knows, is itself of great public interest; and there is no doubt that a Parliament which not only was, but was seen to be, above suspicion would enjoy much greater respect than our legislature presently enjoys. Moreover, there may be no other way to clean up local government than for some such compulsory register to be necessary for councillors, and they could hardly be compelled to do what Parliament itself declines to do. Members of Parliament, in their legislating, cause the public plenty of inconvenience; and at a time when the public could certainly do with reassurance as to the probity of public life the inconveniences and embarrassments of the intrusion into their private affairs that a compulsory register of their financial interests would cause would be a very worthwhile contribution indeed towards the enhancing of the reputation of our elected representative legislature. If, while they were on, they insisted the chairmen (at least) of all committees of county councils make the same disclosures, then indeed a very great and continuing reform would have been brought about.
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