The Tory grassroots deliver their verdict on Alan Duncan

NorthernJohn

"plenty of other MPs utter similar sentiments in private anyway"

Just because something is widespread, doesn't make it right. Didn't MPs expenses teach you anything?

NorthernJohn

"I suspect that whatever chance he had of featuring in a Cameron Cabinet has now just evaporated."

This begs a question - why keep hold of him now?

Sack him to get some youngster blooded before government.

Suki

It's not the offence itself. It's the fact that he consistently puts his foot in his mouth.

They desperately need a Tebbit and a Widders. Unimpeachable, with real intellectual firepower and who can handle tough interviews. Cameron cannot do it all on his own.

They need to start recruiting people with a brain or is the Conservative Party now afraid of social conservatism and obsessed solely with phoney environmentalism and its sham marriage to the ugly face of capitalism?

Robert Rankine

I refer to the threatened legal action against Quentin Letts by A.Sugar, mentioned in the letter signed by many distinguished journalists in the issue of 8th August. As a retired lawyer I find it beyond belief that a reputable firm like Herbert Smith could advise Sugar that what Quentin Letts said was defamatory. His comments were nothing more than an opinion,and surely any court would agree to that. So why this bully-boy threat to Letts ? I believe it is Sugar's uncouth way of telling him to "keep off" in the future. Well, my advice to Quentin Letts, and to all other journalists, is to "keep at him".

THX1138

I know I'm going to get shot down in flames but I'm still convinced that Duncan being gay has a part to play in his unpopularity with the grassroots or shoot that be grey roots.

George Laird

Dear All

“The Tory grassroots have spoken”.

Shock horror and they want blood?

“and they want Alan Duncan out”.

I thought he was already out, how much more out do they want him?

“Here are the main results from a poll which has just been published over at ConservativeHome;

"A ConservativeHome.com poll of 1,622 Tory members carried out today finds 65% want Alan Duncan to resign and 55% think he should be sacked”.

Was hanging an option?

“A massive 91% think he should be moved from his current job where he has a role in deciding Conservative policy on MPs’ expenses and allowances”.

91% and George Laird says so too!

“61% are dissatisfied with Alan Duncan's performance”.

He just treading water, what performance?

“31% are satisfied”.

And easily pleased!

“This makes him the least popular member of the shadow cabinet”.

He is more unpopular than Michael Gove?

How can that be?

“38% agreed that 'Alan Duncan was telling the truth”.

Ah lots of greedy people in that party.

“52% disagreed”.

Someone should explain the question.

“65% agreed “There is now a real problem of high calibre people being discouraged from entering politics”.

Does someone know of anyone of high calibre in the Tory ranks?

“32% disagreed."

And George Laird too!

“Myself, I can't see Duncan resigning or getting sacked over his infamous comments; at least not immediately. However stupid he was - and, make no mistake, it was a big error of judgement on his part - the misdemeanour isn't a sacking offence in and of itself”.

He mouthed off, big deal at least we know where he stands.

“After all, the jury's still out on whether he was joking or not, and plenty of other MPs utter similar sentiments in private anyway”.

I don’t think he was joking, looking dispassionately at the situation; you have a multi-millionaire suffering because only gets about 4 times the national average wage.

“But this isn't to excuse Duncan”.

Really what is the big deal?

“The verdict from the grassroots is compelling, and this is hardly the first time that he's embarrassed both himself and the Tory leadership”.

You saw him on Have I got news for you? The forced humour from him was cringe, cringe and cringe!

Painful to watch that was.

“Like James, I suspect that whatever chance he had of featuring in a Cameron Cabinet has now just evaporated”.

Why doesn’t Cameron sentence him to some godless place to teach laughing boy a lesson?

Somewhere that hasn’t decent shops or a good restaurant within walking distance of his office or better still shack.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Dean

What's disturbing about this is not that Duncan made an "error of judgement", but rather what that error reveals about the mindset that remains prevalent amongst so many MPs.

Their attitude is that they belong to an elite of highly paid career professionals, for whom being an MP is merely one phase in a long, financially lucrative, career. They therefore regard the base MP salary as low compared to what they would/should be earning outside Parliament.

This is the thought process that underlies the abuse of the expense system. Expenses have been seen, in effect, as a flexible benefit package that can be used to boost total remuneration. Now that these benefits are being withdrawn, people like Duncan are crying foul. That's not an error of judgement - the guy really means it.

However, MPs' base pay is only low if one accepts the premise that they are, in fact, high flying career professionals whose pay should be benchmarked against lawyers, doctors, management consultants etc. If you start from a different premise - which is that being an MP is or should be a form of public service undertaken by citizens with a vocation for it - then the base salary doesn't seem so low. Indeed, one could make a very good case for reducing it precisely to ensure that Parliament attracts people whose primary motivation is not monetary.

There's no point in criticising Duncan for making a "gaffe" when it was so clearly the expression of a genuinely-held view. The more interesting question is why so many MPs approach their responsibilities with this careerist mindset. A related issue is why everyone in the Westminster village thinks it perfectly natural for George Osborne and Peter Mandelson to meet socially in Corfu on their summer holidays. Most people outside the elite find that extremely weird.

Vulture.

To leave this man in charge of the 'Conservative response' to exesgate shows that Dave has the same brilliant judgement as Dunky himself. But Dunky is a member of Dave's & Boy George's squillionaires' club and therefore untouchable. I was vaguely toying with the idea of still voting Tory at the next election to get rid of Bruno, but the repulsive Cameron clique have finally turned me off that idea. I think a lot of voters feel the same way, which is why the Con poll lead will evaporate over the next year.

sinosimon

Peter, if 'plenty ' of other mp's say the same thing in private, who are they? if you do not say who they are you are simply cosying up to the thieves. each association has the right to know whether their mp believes they have the right to trough in OUR money. so....who are they, and why will you not reveal their names?

Ricky

More gardening leave is quite in order for this buffoon, who appears to place his horticultural interests rather high on his expenses.

His ridiculous performance on HIGNFY justified his swift removal alone.

If DC doesn't push him out and fast, he will become cannon fodder for the enemies of the Conservative Party. At this stage in the game of real politik DC cannot afford to prevaricate.

David

I wish people would stop doing Tim Montgomerie's career puffing for him. ConHom is not synonymous with the Grassroots.

Kevyn Bodman

THX:
I would be surprised if Duncan being gay is a big factor in this.
Most people simply don't care what others do in the bedroom.
In my experience it is not the right, it is the left, that attaches importance to it.

Ian C

I have never been a particular admirer of Alan Duncan, but this whole thing is a hurricane in a teacup.

While the words he used were misjudged, they were shorthand for the new world MP's are in. He was stupidly buddy-buddying a critic he was trying to assuage, when he should not have bothered, with 'real life' small talk and was deceived by someone seeking cheap shots.

If he was good enough for his job before he should be (and I think will be) left alone. Story over.

Pat

The big pity is that he had an important point to make- that MPs without outside interests lack both perspective and independence, and the house will be much poorer without them. His means of expression however leave everything to be desired- hence I can't see any reason to employ him as a spokesman on any subject.

Witan

This is a poll of anyone who uses ConHome and not of the Tory 'grass roots'. That is something that the owners have always claimed yet do nothing to really ensure. That is why I stopped taking part.

How many Labour and LibDem trolls are in this poll?

David Ossitt

The Members of Parliament who are not ministers receive £65,000 salary and expenses that are more than extremely generous and in the main paid with little if any proof of them having spent the amount claimed.

For this remuneration they work approximately 32 weeks per year, remember that their working week comprises of Monday afternoon, all day Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday mornings.

On top of this; they benefit from the best pension provision that money can buy; wonderful perquisites such as subsidised food and drink at Westminster, and trips around the globe paid for by the taxpayer.

They are permitted; encouraged even, to take on numerous other means of paid employment.

They have the privilege of being a Member of Parliament and when it is all over can look forward not only to their pension but to a Peerage that will include lovely juicy signing in expenses.

All this; and yet, that little bastard Alan Duncan, claims that they are all on rations and treated like shit.

He should be deeply ashamed of himself; and David Cameron should insist on a very public apology at the very least.

THX1138;

I think you are mistaken; him being gay has been one of the reasons for his popularity.

Sadly his loose talk could cost him dear.

Ben Elford

Unfortunately, Cameron has added weight to the accusation that he has one rule for members of the shadow cabinet, and another for everyone else.

Remember how John Major used to try desperately to hang on to members of his team when they were exposed as compromised, until forced into humiliating capitulation? Cameron seems to be falling into the same trap. Duncan shows poor judgement and is a serial embarrassment. Keeping him will only cause harm to the Conservative team.

Peter from Maidstone

Duncan shows extremely poor judgement in speaking so frankly to someone who was a known enemy and likely to want to cause further trouble. Just as Osborne showed poor judgement in cosying up to Mandelson on holiday.

terence patrick hewett

It is clear from Mr Duncan’s comments, that parliamentarians still do not understand why they are being castigated. They do not understand that we regard them as a political class; and a class that does not represent us, but itself. This class is a true Aristocracy; and the greatest evil of aristocracies is that, what they inflict, they can never suffer themselves. The laws that they make are for us, the Governed, not for them, them Governors. We may not smoke in Public Houses but the House of Commons is an exception. We have strict tax laws, but they are not for the political Aristocracy, they are for us; and if we beak those laws we will go to prison. If they break them, they go to the Chiltern Hundreds.

This political Aristocracy does not resemble in any shape or form the people as a whole. Amongst the 635 members of parliament: where are the engineers, the scientists, the historians, the farmers, the archaeologists, the architects, the soldiers, the churchmen; the list goes on and on. There are precious few. There are precious few manual workers. Even a cursory glimpse of the 2005 election statistics reveal there are too many barristers, to many solicitors, to many teachers and God help us to many professional politicians. But what really stands out, is that the overwhelming majority have no experience at all in creating the wealth by which we live. And these are the people who order and dispose of the countless billions of our hard earned money.

As far as Mr Duncan is concerned, I must admit bias. I have always distrusted males who have coiffed hair; as I have always distrusted males who wear casual, unlaced shoes. Mr Duncan is what a previous generation would have called a Cad. Jeeves would not have approved of him; and nor do I.