More fuel for the anti-politics fire

AndyinBrum

What's happening to the Labour MPs? Have they been stripped of the Whip?

Brian de Souta

It remains a pity that some of the marginal cases like Lord Clarke have been given licence for their claims by the decision not to prosecute on basis of insufficient evidence.

It is perfectly obvious that his claims, and those by other peers like Taylor and Rennard would not be deemed proper if made within an ethical organisation with competent authorities.

Each of them used some variant of a wheeze that involved claiming a 'main residence' outside London, whilst living within London for most of the year, that is if their used their 'main residence' at all (which remains the question mark over the Uddin case)

However the decision by the House authorities to 'clear' Rennard last year on the basis of there being no clear definition of 'main residence' within the rules means only people who have made some other error of detail like Hanningfield can actually be prosecuted.

Any common sense assessment of the meaning of words would conclude 'main' means the place you live most of the time. There is no way one can conclude the 'cleared' peers were not aware of this. So they've been allowed to get away with deliberately using the system for personal advantage, whilst other peers did not.

That is very wrong and it is quite disturbing that not one of the political parties has the bottle to sack or suspend these unethical chislers for failing to show the basic standards of probity we should expect from people in public life.

Whether they belong in prison is a matter of criminal law, whether they belong in the House still does at least merit an inquiry.

Frank P

Why is there a limit to what an be said for legal reasons? Just talk about all the others who haven't been nicked who were exposed as thieves during the Daily Telegraph enquiries, many implicitly confessing their guilt by voluntarily return of the proceeds of their crimes, including the pious bastard of a 'Prime Minister' who issued forth with his sanctimonious drivel on TV this morning as he castigated his co-conspirators. Criminal Justice in this country should now be staged at the Palace of Varieties. The Law Courts (including the PoW) could be converted into pigsties, it would be utterly impossible to remove the stench of corruption that renders them unfit for other use.

Tom Pride

Cameron can use this anti-politics to advantage if he is prepared to offer the voters want they really want – the ability at a general election to eject their member of parliament while still voting for their preferred Party. Rather than just reject Brown’s opportunistic and cynical alternative vote reform, Cameron should propose a simple and cost effective scheme –

1) Let parties select their candidates in the manner of their own choosing.
2) The ballot paper to have two columns of boxes – for each candidate:
Column A – Party and Candidate
Column B – Party only
3) The voter selects their Party of choice by making one cross, either in column A or column B.

The winning Party is determine by the most combined Columns A and B votes. However the candidate on the ballot for that Party will only be returned as the Member of Parliament if he / she has more than 50% of the votes cast for that Party in Column A.

If a candidate is rejected then an official “Secondary Poll” open to ALL registered voters in the Constituency is conducted by the electoral officer. The winning party must put up say five candidates, which may include the rejected candidate, and the candidate with the most votes in the Secondary Poll is returned as the MP.

The national state of the Parties and thus a result could still be achieved on General Election night and if in the interim period the Parties may add to any votes in Parliament the votes of the constituencies without returned members, the majority party could form an effective government.

Local parties would have an incentive to put forward candidates likely to achieve 50% of their own party voters support if they wish to avoid the Secondary Poll of all voters. Hopefully that would keep the number of Secondary Polls down. It would mean the end of safe seats for individual MPs which would focus their minds on the views and reactions of their voters if they wish to seek re-election.

If Cameron proposes something along these lines, as well as a form of re-call and a reduction in MPs and ministers’ salaries, he will put the pressure back on Brown as being the block to a change which the electorate might actually want.

Ghengis

I will not make comment upon those that have found themselves in the deep water -- however, it is perhaps worth noting that the Theft Act appears to make steeper and more slippery the gradient from the shallows. Particularly, to those MP's who have misrepresented the usage of two separate properties upon expense claim forms.

Robert Williams

The Conservatives may have withdrawn the whip, but Labour whips have engineered Chaytor being lined up two times in the past three weeks to ask planted questions at PMQs. Yet BBC tells us that Brown is "very angry" at his colleagues behaviour adding, "We took steps some months ago to remove the right of these people to stand as candidates for the Labour Party"

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

In no way sympathising with any politicians, I cannot help noting that the show trials are beginning. Soon the Reign of Terror will also start in earnest. A firm way of bringing the Whip to anyone who steps out of line.

Shafted Saver

If we had tried any of this, we would have been sacked, arrested, deprived of our pension, probably tried and gone to jail. The country (well, some of it)is watching this charade, where the evidence of fraud and cheating seems clear, and we seriously want heads to roll. Just for starters.

But already the wee West Lothian sh**e is mingeing about how this has no right to come before the law, it's just a matter for Parliament (whatever that is now.)

I am seriously looking forward to their terms of imprisonment. And if we don't get that - what does it say for the system, the leaders (on all sides), and the inertia of the public. Does anybody care anyway ?

Well, I care, but given the current status of our democratic voice, what can I do ?

All suggestions welcomed.

Fergus Pickering

Who is Lord Hanningfield? I've never heard of him. Has anyone until today? I've heard of the Labour bastards though.

mitcheltj

Surely one of the biggest scandals is that all those MPs who made a fortune "house-flipping" are going to get away with it. Pass the sick bucket.

jason

The mp's could have left parliament last summer but labour feared they would lose a by election and begged jim devine not to quit and force a by election.

denis cooper

Tom Pride, I would go in the opposite direction by REMOVING the names of parties from ballot papers. As I recall they've only been included since the late 1960's, and that was a mistake which should be reversed.

denis cooper

Incidentally, it's an anti-politician fire rather than anti-politics.