ED MILIBAND banned his MPs yesterday from taking second jobs and Labour will lead the charge today to wipe part-time positions out of Parliament.

Today’s opposition day debate comes after Tory MP Malcolm Rifkind announced yesterday he will stand down from Parliament after being caught offering his services in an undercover sting.

Mr Rifkind, who complained his £67,000 MPs salary was not enough to survive on, had planned to stand in his Kensington and Chelsea again in May.

The shamed former foreign secretary also resigned as chair of Parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC).

He insisted “I don’t think I did anything wrong” by offering to lobby government ministers on behalf of a fictitious Hong Kong company in return for a £5,000 to £8,000 fee.

“I may have made errors of judgment, but that’s a different matter,” he told the press.

But Labour will today push for a ban on MPs holding paid directorships or consultancies, saying it will help “restore trust in politics.”

“We need to act to improve the reputation of our political system in the eyes of the British people,” a Labour spokesman said ahead of the vote.

“MPs are dedicated to the service of their constituents and the overwhelming majority follow the rules.

“But the British people need to know that when they vote they are electing someone who will represent them directly, and not be swayed by what they may owe to the interests of others.”

Mr Miliband has already imposed the ban on his own MPs in the wake of the scandal, which also saw Labour MP Jack Straw snared.

Mr Straw, who was already standing down as Blackburn MP, asked for a £5,000-a-day consultancy fee and boasted how he’d changed the law on behalf of companies before by working “under the radar.”

Labour called for cross-party support for today’s vote.

But Prime Minister David Cameron has already signalled his intention to defend the right of his MPs to double job.

Senior Tories even stuck up for Mr Straw in Parliament yesterday, with Jacob Rees-Mogg describing him as “sophisticated and capable.”
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