NOW LET'S GET ON WITH THE ELECTION CAMPAIGN...
It hasn't been a good few days for Eastern region Conservatives with the Bashir Khanbhai affair hanging over us. But the decision has been made now and we must buckle down to fighting a proper election campaign and make sure that we return at least 4 Conservatives on June 10th. I hadn't met Bashir until a few weeks ago but I spoke to him on Monday evening. No doubt our political enemies will think they have got a scalp, but let us not forget that there is a human element to this. And let us also not forget that Bashir was singled out because of his apparently non-existent address in Wroxham. I hope our friends in the media will now have a close look at the expenses of people like the Federalist LibDem Euro MEP Andrew Duff, who was only too happy to defend MEPs, presumably himself included, who claimed attendance allowances when they were on their way to the airport. I don't say this to diminish the Khanbhai issue because I think this had got to the point where even if he had come out and publically defended himself, few in the outside world would have been convinced, as they had already made up their minds that he was guilty. I'm sure that we, as a Party, have learned a lot of lessons from the handling of this, especially on the PR front. It must never be allowed to happen again. End of story. Time to move on and fight the Euro Federalists.
No, I'm not attempting to smear him. In fact he did that quite well for himself the other week when he appeared on TV defending MEPS, presumably himself included, who were claiming an attendance allowance when they were not in the Parliament. What a disgrace. And for the record I am aware that MEPs of all Parties have been doing this. It should be said that Conservative MEPs have consistently supported moves to abolish this system but the Council of Ministers keep shelving it. Having said all that I have re-read what I wrote and agree that it is open to interpretation and have therefore edited it slightly. That's the peril of instantaneous blogging!
ReplyDeleteSee today's EDP. I rest my case m'lud. No one comes out of this well, but let's get away from this view that the LibDems are so whiter than white.
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