Speaking exclusively to the Knutsford Guardian he said he would endorse the work of the Knutsford-based Democracy Trust.

Members of the group are now expected to ask him to be the first to sign their Code of Conduct which will be sent to every MP in the country.

"As I understand it when you become a Member of Parliament you take an oath to abide by those principles," said Mr Bell.

"But MPs sometimes don't realise what they have got to live by and have signed on to.

"I have no problem in signing their code at all."

The Trust, which is based in St John's Road, was founded by members of Mr Bell's 1997 campaign team.

On Monday, Bill Givens, a former Labour supporter, said he was delighted Mr Bell had agreed to support their cause.

"This is why we supported him in the first place because of his integrity," he said.

"We believed in Martin during that campaign and it is vitally important that he is the first person to sign it."

The Democracy Trust's Code of Conduct was first published in the Knutsford Guardian two weeks ago.

It is a set of standards that Mr Givens describes as a 'pact' between MPs and their voters, but he fears few will sign it.

"They will be told not to sign up to it, but that is to be expected," he said.

Mr Givens founded The Democracy Trust with a nucleus of former campaign volunteers, including Knutsford's Sue Addison, after he became disillusioned the mainstream political process and the erosion of democracy in Britain.

They hope to support Independent-minded MPs and councillors who they believe will help to safeguard the future of democracy and monitor the parliamentary standards.

"You can't fight this from within," said Mr Givens. "You have got to do it from the outside."