Sherwood MP proud of 'small step in the right direction' towards culture change in Westminster

Mr Spencer, Leader of the House of Commons, said the motion was ‘a small step in the right direction’ towards changing the culture in Westminster.

It comes in the wake of of the controversy over The Mail on Sunday accusing Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner of trying to distract Prime Minister Boris Johnson during debates by crossing and uncrossing her legs.

This has led to accusations of a misogynistic culture in Westminster and claims a small number of unnamed MPs have been guilty of such practice.

Posting on the Leader of the House of Commons Twitter feed, Mr Spencer said: “Like me, many of you will have been appalled by the misogyny we saw in The Mail on Sunday article about Ms Rayner.

“I think it sends a terrible message to women who are thinking about seeking election or are thinking about seeking election within the House of Commons.

"A number of my predecessors have been working for some time to try to improve the culture in Westminster.

“We’ve made a small step in the right direction in the House of Commons where we’ve introduced a new scheme in the form of cluster reporting so that those people who are feeling concerned or worried about bullying or harassment here in Westminster, can report that without making a formal complaint.

“That’s a small step in the right direction, but one which I’m proud of and which I’m glad to have put my name to and will hopefully give confidence to people working in Westminster to feel they can come forward, make a complaint and log their concerns and will be taken seriously.

“It’s a small step in the right direction, but we have to change the culture and some of the behaviour which a small minority of people have been committing.”