"What right does the public have to
interfere with my private life? None"
interfere with my private life? None"
Readers keep emailing me Anthony Steen's interview from the World at One. To be honest, I didn't want to listen to it. I was right. I wish I hadn't. How can this man not 'get it'?
I think he has forgotten that he is a public servant not a Lord of the manor. Such arrogance. Pity I can't hear a tumbril lurching down his way. I feel a revolution coming on.
ReplyDeleteHe's a Tory.
ReplyDeleteSimple as that Iain
Breathtaking..........
ReplyDeleteHe's right.
ReplyDeleteBut equally he has no right to expect the general public to fund his private life.
But Cameron sent him a lovely letter!
ReplyDeleteI watched a very interesting programme on the middle ages the other evening. In it they spoke about chivalry and how brutal life was for the commoners, in life generally but especially on the battle field.
Knights had an oath to look after their own. So, we were informed, if a Knight saw another Knight from the opposing side in trouble, he was duty bound to support him.
Commoners were killed!
I write this, not that I am deranged but to ask the question, hoping someone will know the answer.
Are Etonians taught that they must look after their own? Cameron is surrounded by them and a number of them have been caught with their fingers in the till.
The general consensus on all polls taken is that they should all be booted out!
Why does Cameron cling unto the likes of Gove, Letwin, Maude and co?
Good riddance to the old tosser...
ReplyDeleteWhat a deranged and arrogant fool, I hope his house burns down with him in it.
ReplyDeletePerhaps if all his constituents sent him their gardening bills he might suddenly 'get it'.
ReplyDeletePriceless, absolutely priceless
ReplyDeleteHe has at one stroke shown that he has not got a political bone in his body.
ReplyDeleteWhich is pretty pathetic really. Tory party well rid of him. Question is can his local party select someone different. Lets hope so.
I listened to him on R4, and his arrogance took my breath away. He really does not get it.
ReplyDeleteWhen we pay for his private lifestyle we have every right to know what we are funding.
The man is a complete and contemptible [redacted]. No wonder that the 'soundings' he took among his constituents led him to make his decision.
And how can he claim 'jealousy' of his property among his defecting electorate as the cause of his demise? He lived there during the last election, and he won. It's just that no one then knew what a complete [censored] the [censored squared] is.
"The rich are different from us.."
ReplyDeleteHow many more Tory MPs are there like that? As a rough percentage?
ReplyDeleteOld Holborn, would you care to enlarge? If you're making some kind of ball achingly lame class distinction between the Tories and Labour make sure you add that Harriet Harman is the niece of the Countess of Longford, Hillary Benn is the grandson of Viscount Stansgate and is assuming the title Lord Stansgate and that most of the cabinet went to distinguished public schools. The stench of the Nu-Labour pseudo working class has become even more unbearable than the likes of Anthony Steen. At least he can't help being a roaring anus.
ReplyDeleteAshamed he's a Devon MP. But I suspect that a lot of MPs of all parties think they should be above scrutiny, but don't dare say so at present. After all they voted last year against revealing their expenses.
ReplyDelete"Only the little people pay taxes..."
His response was scarely credible. I did not realise that we were supposed to fund Mr Steen's private life (without explanation) and that the £87,000 cost of tree trimming etc was incurred "wholly, necessarily and exclusively" in connection with his job. I suppose I am missing something...
ReplyDeleteHis reaction was breathtaking, and what's worse there are dozens of MPs who probably think all that was his "entitlement".
Truly jaw dropping arrogance. None of our business how he spends our money (and the people who elected him are "jealous").
ReplyDeleteIf Labour splice it into their general election broadcasts Brown might just get re-elected. The revenge of Anthony Steen?
You obviously haven't heard of the Labour trougher who just about beats this one: "Are we only allowed to buy things from the 99p store?" after spending £228.95 on a digital alarm clock - the second most expensive in Britain. The link below in the blog story shows the most expensive one at, of course, Asprey.
ReplyDeleteFollow up story here with a local blog story here.
Just listened to Anthony Steen’s interview. As interviews go, that one went..
ReplyDelete“I’ve got a wery, wery large house..”
Had he been at the sherry?
Anthony Steen is right. The baying of the mob is incredible. I didn't vote for him at the last election but I most certainly would if I had the chance to do so the next time. The barbarians are at the gates.
ReplyDeleteKangaroo court, support of the party leader... please wake me up and tell me this was all a cringetastic comedy moment. Do you have anything final to say?. Executioner....!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnthony Steen is a gentleman; and an honest one at that. His resignation letter to David Cameron (link from Conservative Home) is both gracious and self-aware. His "crime" seems to be having claimed, within the rules, for expenses relating to his main residence, not a second home; and not "flipping" or evading Capital Gains Tax. Which is the worst offence? Where are the resignations from Labour or the Liberals? Or indeed from David Cameron's Old Etonian friends?
ReplyDeleteHe's only saying what plenty of other MPs think (well, maybe not the "they're all just jealous of the size of my manhood!" part), but have the sense not to say in public. Privately, you can bet they are at least as unrepentant and indignant, if not quite as naive, as he. I'm sure they believe less in transparency now than ever.
ReplyDeleteHe's only saying out loud what most of them are thinking. By the way, how is Steen's bleating any different from Nadine's on her blog?
ReplyDeleteAnthony Steen's comments came at the end of the worst day of his political career - the day he decided to retire. Of course he was emotional. He said too much, straight from the heart, and was probably coaxed into doing so by the 'friendly' BBC journalist. No other MPs have been brave enough to be interviewed. Perhaps they've all been silenced by the Party Leaders? The media present Steen as a bumbling idiot, failing to consider his considerable work and achievements - all I did was look on the Theyworkforyou website and his website to find this out. He appears well-liked and hard working, particularly in relation to human trafficking prevention. Why do the media and public think in such a one dimensional way? I feel as if I'm being spoon-fed information, but am only being invited to think as the BBC/Daily Telegraph want me to. Steen hasn't committed fraud and he resigned because he was more concerned about the Party than himself. Whilst a thorn in Cameron's side, he is helping Cameron to look strong and decisive. Parliament needs independent thinkers like him instead of bland lemmings.
ReplyDelete