"If the machinery of government is grinding to a halt over the matter of monies amounting to less than the price of a second-hand Ford Fiesta, whose interests are these rules serving, other than those of the Fourth Estate?"
From the Westmonster blog
"If the machinery of government is grinding to a halt over the matter of monies amounting to less than the price of a second-hand Ford Fiesta, whose interests are these rules serving, other than those of the Fourth Estate?"
17 comments:
Iam always wary of anybody who says "monies"?
The rules are serving our interests in revealing which politicians are not honest, conscientious, and honourable in the face of transgression.
To suggest otherwise is to subscribe to the Blair school of never apologise, never explain, just draw a line and move on.
Oh so sorry! I did not realise that a second hand Fiesta could be got for only £103,000. I wonder what else Phain has in his garage?
The Westmonster blog post is a disgrace. 'Better backroom staff' - no, politicians who aren't crooks, and politicians who will take something resembling responsibility, please.
He is right about just how cheap they are though. However, the consequences of them putting up the price of bribery would be to make them even more out of touch with their electorate.
Better backroom staff? Get some advice on that from Derek Conway - Tory MP who is just being slapped with a ten day suspension after paying his son £7k for doing little or no research work.
Well of course, it is perfectly logical. You spend £5,000 on the second hand car, and pocket the rest of it claiming 'various expenses', but only when you get caught.
Little laws should only be for little people, eh.
Sometimes Iain, your no swearing rule is hard to bear.
Any chance on a posting about Mr Conway, Iain? Even handed and all that...
Let the fourth estate get excited over Johnson's financial issue (for that is what I assume 'price of a second hand Ford Fiesta' refers to). So what if that isn't exactly a life or death matter for anyone outside of the Westminster Village - I'd prefer them to get over-excited over this than to start ignoring political scandal altogether.
We benefit from their oversight of our political class, this is just the rough end of it.
Even a few K is not permissible.
Crikey, where do you buy your cars from? You must be the car salesman's best friend.
Three Grand will buy you a very good second-hand motor indeed, with change too.
Actually I think the legislation is working quite well! The aim surely was to try and enforce transparency and to let the voters decide on the punishment. We now know that several MPs have accepted impermissible donations and donations by proxy. It is now up to the voters to decide whether they cast a stain on the MPs involved.
How much should you be allowed to cheat then ?Perhaps the answer is to have less rules
...Ohh and who is making all the fuss about these £5000 donations. Could it be you, Guido and all the right wing bloggers.
If that is correct about Derek Conway, he should have been very severely punished for a gross misuse of public funds, Tory or not.
Of course, it is not unknown for Labour MPs to do the same thing, but doesn't excuse it.
Remember the old anecdote about the wealthy man and the barmaid? He had offered a million pounds to sleep with her, and she had accepted. He then asked "Would you sleep with me for a hundred pounds?". "No!" she replied, "What do you think I am?"
"We've already established what you are. All we're doing now is negotiating the price."
Whether it's the price of a second hand car or a new Lear Jet is irrelevant.
As the businessman in the anecdote might have said, we've already established what they are, and all that remains is to ascertain how much it took to corrupt them. Or, in the barmaid's eyes, that they were corrupted for small amounts makes them more culpable, not less.
I'm afraid to say that the word "principle" has obviously been erased from the Westmonster Bloggers' lexicon. Much like it appears to have been erased from those of many politicians.
These people ask us to trust them with the power to rule our lives, pass laws on our conduct and generally mess us around. They cannot be seen to be above the very laws they themselves write. The size of the breach of trust is immaterial, the breach in itself is enough.
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