A gentlemen's agreement?

Forlornehope

Working in a moderately high profile business, American colleagues frequently referred to the Washington Post test: "If you wouldn't want to see it in the Post, don't do it."

Transparency

I am astounded at the outrageous behaviour the 'certain tory backbenchers' you mention and the attitude of the MP you quote.
Do they really not care whether or not they are re-elected, do they really not care how they are perceived by the public, do they really not care about scuppering the party's standing in the polls?
Just how dim, venal and thick-skinned do you have to be to contemplate such tactics?
The people of this country are crying out for respite from the economic and political misery of a bankrupt and authoritarian government, one of the worst in living memory and these morons want to undermine the opposition!

NickL

Gentlemen'agreement? These backbenchers are hardly acting like gentlemen. Especially as gentlemen would not make agreements they cannot deliver on - as clearly they are unwilling to vote against the whip. Could these "gentlemen" step forward in public, so that they can claim credit in front of their constituency executives and their electors?

Chuck Unsworth

Name and Shame!

It's amazing what the cold light of day will do to these people and their wizard wheezes for ripping off the taxpayers.

Just list their names, that's all that is needed.

Andy Leeds

All MPs no matter what party need to understand that they are there to serve, serve the State, their consituents, but not themselves.

The most disgraceful aspect of this whole affair was the fact that the Government were planning to 3 line whip the measure through. Have they no shame ? Apparently not.

mac

I hope some blogger or other will oblige by disclosing to the electorate the identities of this 'cosy enclave' of back-bench 'gentlemen'.

jonathanNS

So it looks like Brown was telling the truth.

He was looking for consensus and now he will look again. I think that is probably the right approach. I see no evidence this is a party political issue.

jonathanNS

Woah woah woah peter.

I have now read the Sam Coates piece. This isnt just a few backbench tory mavericks.

This was an agreement reached between the Government side and Sir Michael Spicer the chairman of the 1922 committee. He will have been acting on behalf of ALL backbench tory MPs, since all are members of the 1922 group.

From your post I got the impression this was a handful of backbenchers. In fact this is the CLP versus Cameron.

Publius

"I mean, would you want to show the public every single receipt you claimed for?"

You don't want the public to know? Then don't claim it as an expense. Simple.

Pete Hoskin

jonathanNS, 6:50pm: true enough, and I should have made that clearer above (wasn't trying to be deliberately misleading). One thing to remember though: it's now near-impossible to determine how many backbenchers would have voted with the government had the vote gone ahead, and had there been no whip on the Tory side - even given Spicer's involvement. Just too many hypotheticals...

Peter Wilson

"I mean, would you want to show the public every single receipt you claimed for?"

Why not? I have to this month when I complete my tax return.

Sorry? but are MPs somehow exempt from the rules that the rest of us have abide by?

J.Wright

Today on TV saw Obama promise transparent government and total FOI in the US, How different from PMQ time where we saw a lot of Pigs from the Trough conspire with
a transparently dishonest PM to deny us FOI about MPs expenses which are paid with OUR MONEY.

Hawkeye

In business you have to show a receipt for every expense you claim. If we have to do it (and it generally works) then there is NO excuse for MPs to be exempted.

Athesius the Facilitator

David Cameron should be given a medal for what he's done today. He has put those idiots on the Tory and Labour back benches to the sword and humiliated the mendacious Brown and his ridiculous bunch of window licking cabinet stooges. Goodonya!Dave.

Craig

Maybe not, but if asked I sure as hell have to show HM Revenue and Customs my receipts if they don't believe the expenses on my self assessment return...

Truly one rule for us, one rule for them. The Tories involved in this "gentleman's agreement" should be named and shamed.

Bill Corr

The truth will out! Or will it?

Will there be juicy and embarrassing revelations in due course? Lists of inflatable ladies, 'Hello Kitty' nipple clamps and top-of-the-range Sybian machines?

Who has most to hide, dear readers?

RODEST

Obama made a point in his speach to politicians 'Accountability'.

Cameron should hammer this point to Tory MPs and put Brown on notice that this should be an election issue.

At a time when taxpayers are expected to fund the bailout of banks, MPs expences should be withdrawn until the bailout money has been repaid.

TC

Cameron should order all Tory MPs to fully disclose their expenses, regardless of what the government does. Tell them they'll lose the party whip otherwise. That would be a real statement.

Ian Walker

"I mean, would you want to show the public every single receipt you claimed for?"

I have to be able to show all of mine, on demand, to HMRC at any time they choose.

I'm happy to as well, because the above system keeps me honest - I only claim on expenses things that I can legitimately justify as part of my business.

Try putting your brand new 40" plasma telly down as Office Equipment and see how far you get......

dilys

"And lest some Parliamentarians forget; it's that public that they're supposed to be representing."

Forget? Many of them have never acknowledged us at all.

skooch

Summary of the Nolan Committee's First Report on Standards in Public Life:

At the request of the Prime Minister, the Nolan Committee has spent six months inquiring into standards in British public life. We have concentrated on Members of Parliament, Ministers and Civil Servants, executive Quangos and NHS bodies.

We cannot say conclusively that standards of behaviour in public life have declined. We can say that conduct in public life is more rigorously scrutinised than it was in the past, that the standards which the public demands remain high, and that the great majority of people in public life meet those high standards. But there are weaknesses in the procedures for maintaining and enforcing those standards. As a result people in public life are not always as clear as they should be about where the boundaries of acceptable conduct lie. This we regard as the principal reason for public disquiet. It calls for urgent remedial action.
This leaflet summarises the Committee's unanimous conclusions and lists its recommendations.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Seven Principles of Public Life:

Selflessness

Holders of public office should take decisions solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends.

Integrity

Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might influence them in the performance of their official duties.

Objectivity

In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.

Accountability

Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.

Openness

Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.

Honesty

Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.

Leadership

Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.

These principles apply to all aspects of public life. The Committee has set them out here for the benefit of all who serve the public in any way.

I have just signed up to these principles, as a school governor.

And school governor don't feature in the header. And the only date I can find is 1996.

What does it all mean?

TrevorsDen

As a strong Tory I hope these' certain Tory' MPs read this blog and they can take it straight from the shoulder from me ...

... they are a set of bastards, not quite as big a set as on the benches opposite but thats immaterial, they are MY set of bastards. And they stink.

I am glad Cameron and those Tory MPs with gumption did not go with it.

Fergus Pickering

Infltable ladies? What about expenses caims for non-inflatable ladies. Or non-inflatable gentlemen, come to that. Did Mark Oatem put in a claim I wonder? Under what heading would it come? I, lke many of you, want the list of Tory PPs who agrred like gentlemen. Off woth their bloody heads.

salieri

It's apposite to remember the legal definition of a "gentlemen's agreement" given by a great Judge more than half a century ago: "An agreement which is not an agreement, made (or more precisely not made)between two or more parties of whom at least one is not a gentleman."

DW

Don't stop there, Cameron.
Reduce the numbers of MPs too, and their salaries (in these financially straitened times), or freeze their pensions and you'd have even more of a vote winner. Am I right in thinking that some of them still get money, or a form of pay off, even once they're voted out? Other countries are making their public representatives take pay cuts...why not here too? There's no shortage of decent, worldly wise people wanting to be MPs. We don't need to pander to the pigs in the trough type representative to get the best.

Ian C

This episode is as an absolute disgrace. First those Tories who thought they are exempt from scrutiny is absolutely incredible and displays an attitude that bred the Derek Conway scandal. What else is there that we don't know about?

That a 'gentleman's agreement' can be considered done without the party leadership's approval is to misunderstand all sorts of things, least of all 'gentlemen's agreements'.

This was plainly a blatant attempt by Labour to slip one past Cameron.

It is to his immense credit that he snuffed it out.

RODEST

Anyone wanting to check their MPs expences/activities can do so by logging on to'theyworkforyou.gov.uk'

Verity

DW - The entire Singapore cabinet voted to give itself a 10% pay cut. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave himself a 19% pay cut.