Hands off

There is a lot of waste and needles expenditure in Whitehall but it is, frankly, pathetic of Greg Hands to try and make a fuss about Hazel Blears having a couple of Spanish lessons before attending a summit in Spain or Peter Mandelson being taught how to use a Blackberry. The reputation of politicians is low-enough without MPs spending time and money on this kind of absurd gotcha exercise. Hands really should reflect before asking any more of this kind of question; they might get his name in the paper but what good do they serve?

However, as Iain Dale notes, The Sunday Times story about Stephen Ladyman does not reflect well on the former minister and suggests that the rules regard MPs lobbying on behalf of companies are far too lax. It is quite remarkable to read Ladyman brazenly declaring that if firms that don’t have MPs lobbying for them feel they are at a disadvantage they “can hire MPs.”