Typing this on College Green waiting to do a stint on the BBC News Channel. Nick Brown being interviewed by Jon Sopel at the moment about Elliott Morley and his suspension from the PLP.
The Commons is like a funeral zone today. It's as if someone has died. I have never seen so many depressed faces, such anguish and almost total incomprehension at the state the body politic finds itself in. Particularly hard hit are those who have genuinely done nothing wrong. They feel they are being unfairly tarred with a tainted brush.
The feeling is that more heads are about to roll.
57 comments:
There should be many many heads on spikes above Traitor's Gate.
The Penguin
Someone - maybe the Daily Telegraph - also should publish an analysis of good MP's (from an expenses perspective)
In some respects, they all have to go. It's called a General Election.
Those not directly implicated are at fault as well. They knew damned well what was going on.
The fact that Martin has spent 4 years and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer pounds trying desperately to ensure this information was NOT made public, and
The Government tried to ensure the FoI act did not pertain to this matter
tells you everything you want to know.
There is simply no-one else to blame but themselves.
I have no sympathy but lots and lots of anger.
Paying back some money and stepping down from jobs is not enough. I want to see resignations as M.P.s and hopefully prosecutions.
If 'claims' over the last four years are to be investigated, does this mean that an MP that has stood down in the meantime won't have his expenses checked e.g. T. Bliar?
Have any Heads rolled yet?
Have I missed something?
seems to me they are getting away scot free.
O heard a report on World at One today to the effect that many Labour MPs are refusing to sign Douglas Carswell's motion because they are reluctant to put their name to anything originated by a Tory.
It tells you a lot about the worth of these people.
They have only themselves to blame. It is not good enough to say that the system was to blame.
I know right from wrong and so does every single one of them.
They can apologise as much as they like but that does not wash. They are/were thieves...nothing less.
As ever - you must have a heart of stone not to laugh.
And laugh and laugh and laugh...
They STILL really don't get it, do they? Apalled to see a parade of ne'ere do wells at the prime ministers town hall - Blears, Smith et al. And Nick Brown was unbelievable - does he not understand how furious ordinary peeps are? He was answering questions as if he was sorry for being so cruel to the scrounger.
A lot of sad reflections in the media about what Parliament used to be like - Tony Benn explaining that when he came to the House, there were no expenses claimable at all for backbenchers. None. And people talking about Clement Atlee who came to the House by tube even when Prime Minister!
Also a very good piece on Newsnight last night by a Labour MP from the midlands (sorry, can't remember his name - MP for Bassetlaw?) - who lives in a tiny bedsit rented when in London, for which he does not claim any expenses. He is planning to buy curtains for his bedroom at some point. Main luxury is watching TV on his landladies sofa. Perhaps there should be some kind of award for honesty, starting with people like him. I'm sure there are others in the Tory party and LibDems who are equally well-behaved and moral.
Can I dare to suggest that the worst offender by far to date is Barbara Follett? Quite why the taxpayer should fork out to service the paranoid delusions of a spoiled multi-millionaire wife completely escapes me.
Speaker Martin's in a spot of bother. Activist Mark Thomas is threatening legal action and has given Martin 14 days to respond. If he does not, Mark Thomas will put in motion judicial review proceedings.
http://faustiesblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/political-activist-threatens-speaker.html
Lovely!
It is surely time to introduce a "none of the above" option on ballot papers for the next general election.
And force a revote with an entirely new slate of candidates if "none of the above" wins.
Oh dear, how sad, never mind version (Morley? Toasty!)
yikes !! jon sopel 'bigging up' your blog !
he didn't ask you about the speaker though ?
I feel for those that did not take undue advantage but in order to set the record straight heads will have to roll and its too late now for the (perhaps) innocent to protest. The next election will hinge on transparency I believe.
Have just seen you with Sopel - you did awfully well. Shame you want to be an MP really as you are very effective on the outside looking in.
Quick: name me five MP's who can prove they have done *nothing* wrong.
Don't think there are too many of them pissed off at being unfairly maligned, I think they're all waiting to see if they get exposed.
Britain's integrity has been sliding, together with our international reputation.
Blair prevented BAE from being prosecuted, for example.
And two peers have been suspended today for offering to sell their influence.
But look at Canada, where ex-Conservative-PM Brian Mulroney is before the Oliphant Enquiry again being questioned about taking money to influence Air Canada's purchase of Airbus. Yesterday Mulroney was in tears. I have never met a Canadian who did not think him guilty as hell. The electorate had its revenge, and the Conservative Party of Canada was wiped out in consequence.
A similar sea-change is occurring in Britain.
Here's my idea: every MP should be up for re-selection, with open primaries, followed by an autumn election.
Thoughts?
i felt you piece on BBC news just a couple of mins ago was fantastic, you beautifully summed up the massive anger the public feel. I discussed by the actions of MPs on all sides. Mackay claims he has two second homes and no first! sheer fraud and a slap in the face to the electorate that put him in his position.
What's truly amazing is that as Westminster grapples with the end of politics as we know it, our Labour Assembly Members here in Wales are turning out gems like this...
http://carwynjones.blogspot.com/2009/05/not-forgotten.html
I personally find getting your moat cleaned less offensive than an elected representative who thinks that Britain invaded France...
All MPs should be assumed to be guilty. It's up to them to prove their own innocence.
The Queen should dissolve parliament.
Iain, what is the adage 'For evil to succeed it requires only that good men keep quiet'
THAT is why people, like myself, are angry with the 'good' MP's they kept their mouths closed, knowing what was going on!
They became pygmies rather than the leaders of their people they should have been.
I am afraid this will reflect on most MP's at the general election.
This is all getting very exciting. The speaker will soon be gone (without his £100k bung), MacKay is toast, Morley will be in prison, and plenty more heads WILL roll. If the DT produces something really serious on one or more of the big beasts, and one of them falls, then we may be heading towards a no confidence vote. We may get our election sooner than we think. Frankly this is what we now need. What I suspect may happen is that as seems likely with MacKay, we will see mass deselections of otherwise safe candidates by constituency parties, and a new Parliament with perhaps only 15-20% of the current encumbents. This is really the only way in which confidence can be restored longer term. Any MP paying money back is holding their hands up and saying "guilty" and will not be re-elected. I await with gleeful anticipation the next DT front page.
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/05/enough-is-enough.html
What the Hell is a funeral zone?
Done nothing wrong ?. They have sat back and said nothing about what is going on. They must have known and have just taken the easy option. Who has been passing these claims for payment. at the end of the day the buck stops with the individual MP, The Speaker who passes the claims and the Labour government for not ensuring the system is tight.
Obnoxio the Clown says they're all waiting to be exposed. That's right. They're waiting to be exposed by the newly appointed judge and jury that is the Telegraph whilst having been told by the ousted judge and jury (Fees Office) that their claims were fine. No wonder they're shaking.
The Chartists had it right.
Annual parliaments.
No careerists just deputies of the people.
The ones who "did no wrong" failed the people of this country by not speaking out against those that behaved like greedy little piglets. Such passive acquiescence is normally referred to as a lack of moral courage and is something they should feel ashamed about.
Must be hard for the MPs at the moment, on whether to decide to own up and accept the flack or hide and hope its never found out.
Not that I feel sorry for them.
"Particularly hard hit are those who have genuinely done nothing wrong. They feel they are being unfairly tarred with a tainted brush."
There is no such person, sorry but only a very few have done something 'wrong'. Everyone else is right about it being 'within the rules'. Those rules were created to allow this to happen, the extension of those rules and protection of them has happened during the term of all of these MPs, I don't remember any of them objecting, lobbying for change or flagging this as an issue. They created the rules, to preserve a form of renumeration that at best is intentionally opaque and at worst is designed to deliberately decieve the public. There are no innocents here - for those that have indulged in outright fraud I have nothing but contempt but I have no sympathy for any of these people who voted one set of rules for themselves while demanding the population obey another.
"Particularly hard hit are those who have genuinely done nothing wrong. They feel they are being unfairly tarred with a tainted brush."
What, in the same way that they've been tarring us with the tainted "racist" brush if we dare to so much as mention immigration? They also moved the onus from presumed innocence to presumed guilt for many offences. The ghastly terrorism laws used to opress us. None of them objected. They deserve all they get.
They're getting a dose of their own medicine. I hope it is extremely unpleasant for them and I hope it gets worse.
Is it worth reminding people that all expenses receipts prior to 2005 were shredded by order of Gorbals?
In spite of the fact they were subject to FOI requests.
I wonder why that might be...
And of course Tony Blair's receipts were all specifically accidentally shredded too - also while subject to an ongoing legal challenge.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1181415/MPs-EXPENSES-Blairs-43-000-expenses-shredded-incompetence.html
Are we supposed to feel sorry for them?
I feel angry that most of them are probably going to get away with it.
@Oliver Drew,
Unless I have entirely understood political history WE are the "body politic".
I have empathy, but no sympathy for MPs because I have been living under their regime of ambiguous and petty rules on tax, snooping, political correctness and nannying for ten years. If they have nothing to hide they have nothing to fear. Call in the police, call in the tax man, call in their local supporters. Resign and be reselected
@Shamik
If we sacked all politicians at once we would give total power over to civil service mandarins.
Such efforts have been tried in the past - notably when the French Constitutional Assembly in 1791 dissolved itself and disbarred it's members from the new Legislative Assembly. The result was the loss of two years of real collective political experience and the elevation of demagogues and Jacobins.
"It is surely time to introduce a "none of the above" option on ballot papers for the next general election."
I think I'm right (haven't had time to check) that a quiet amendment to to the Political Parties Elections and Referendum Act (PPERA) 2000 specifically forbids "None of the above" being shown on ballot papers.
Which in the current climate leads me to suspect that some time ago it was feared that the brown stuff would hit the fan at some stage and lead to the kind of reaction we are seeing.
Which further leads me to throw in my hand with those who have limited sympathy with the "good guys" because it can't have been a secret and they knew it was happening and didn't have the courage to do something about it (and Yes it would be considerable courage that was required - but that's not an acceptable excuse)
I dont think PM Gordon Brown will clear the air by calling a General Election. Think another year of suspected if Hon crooks running the country. Why cant we Impeach MPs anymore?
That's right Rog - very good reminders. Also worth being reminded that the "flipping" of second homes was made possible by a law change in 2003, ushered in by - G. Brown, C of E at the time. As Private Eye pointed out in the current issue, this appears to have escaped the broadcast media's attention for some strange reason.
Sadly, those of you hoping for a radical new parliament will be disappointed. Most of the current MPs will be reselected and re-elected, but with much smaller turnouts. I think the next general election will fall to a record low, perhaps in the 30% turnout range.
Even the most blatant fiddling that's been going on is alas not illegal, as "Broon's Law" allows it.
So you can also forget the comforting thought of MPs being led into the dock. It ain't going to happen.
Alas - Gorbals Mick will also not be departing until the General Election. The Tories will not want to give him the heave-ho whilst there is still a Labour majority.
I'm not sure I completely understand the archaic usage of the term here: the rotting smell is surely coming from the elected representatives of the "body politic" - in parliament - and not from the body politic itself. In the modern sense, that's us ain't it?
Apologies if I'm wrong or hair-splitting, but we're fine, thanks and I'd like the distinction to be absolutely crystal clear, lest the greedy politicians seize on the notion that this is somehow a national issue: The problem is a Westminster problem - clearly with national implications - but a Westminster problem nonetheless. It's not our bloody fault a bad parliament has triggered a constitutional crisis with its generally perfidious and venal practices.
And, in truth, and as a little part of that body politic, I'm not that fine about this, actually, and neither are a hell of a lot of other people if comments from friends and neighbours are anything to go by.
I sympathise with those members who feel they "did nothing wrong" (apart from doing sweet fanny adam about the others, of course) but until this parliament is dissolved and a general election called, the body politic - the constituency of the H of C - is going to be royally pissed off. It's time we were 'permitted' to give our verdict on the appalling behaviour of our piggy politicians.
http://denverthen.blogspot.com/2009/05/wind-of-change.html
"Particularly hard hit are those who have genuinely done nothing wrong. They feel they are being unfairly tarred with a tainted brush. "
No!
None of these overpaid cowards had the gumption to say anything sooner, even though would have had ample opportunity.
That they said and did nothing for so long can mean they all silently approved of what was going on.
What's the difference between "good" expenses - claiming £20,000+ for your mortgage on a 2nd home (for which you get to keep the rise in the market value of the home) and "bad" expenses - claiming anything else on a second home that you/your sister/mother already own?
Because Cameroon is up to his neck in "good" expense claim forms.
Want to bet it is the Balls. pair of greedy tykes!
I am 74 years old and have always voted Conservative.
On June 4th I shall write "none of the above" (Green, LibDem, Tory) on the Somerset County Council voting slip and on the EU slip I shall vote BNP, once, twice, however many I am given.
Does this give you an inkling of how I feel at the moment Iain? If we must go to hell in a handcart let us do it quickly.
If you or I were caught taking £16,000 from our employer, we would almost certainly be fired and probably be prosecuted for theft. We might even go to prison. If you are a Former Government Minister, you get "suspended from the Labour Party".
Good, I'm pleased they are feeling depressed. I think that should be the natural state for politicians. In future, I reckon that we will know they are stealing our money, every time they appear happy/ arrogant/ dismissive/ secretive and virtually any other emotions than fear and depression. Long may the current situation last.
john in cheshire
"The Commons is like a funeral zone today. It's as if someone has died."
Constitutional Seppuku
Who was it who said that "the people should not be afraid of the government,the government should be afraid of the people".
Are we nearly there yet?
@ Despairing Liberal
Atlee was just rather more subtle than these cowboys - but he certainly was very capable of careful manipulation.
The heads that should be rolling are those of Jacqui Smith, Tony McNulty and the other cheats in the cabinet. The moment they get sacked, (and are forced to repay every penny they've taken) that's when I'll start to think progress is being made.
I trace it all back to hanging. I'm against hanging myself but the majority supported it. As soon as MPs said we're morally superior to the hoi polloi and abolished hanging then they were on the slippery slope of seeing themselves as superior beings, not answerable to the petty opinions of the Clapham omnibus.
I'm fortunate to have an MP who is one of the good guys - and apparently there is going to be a feature on them in the Mail on Sunday.
My MP has been trying to fight the 'gimme gimme' culture since entering Parliament a few years ago, but what power do a few backbenchers have?
He has adhered to his promises not to abuse allowances, trips and expenses, and has been ticked off by long-standing MPs for doing so. When many of you say he 'should have done something', what would you suggest he should have taken?
Innocent MP's?
Their mistake Ian, is that they went along with it, even if they did not agree with the lack of expenses morality they accepted bad behaviour rather than rock the boat.
The question is what will they do now?
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