MPs’ pettiness over expenses doesn’t help

Thanks to the High Court, we’ll be seeing full details of MPs’ expenses in October. That’s a good thing.  But, as Three Line Whip is reporting, some MPs are still waging personal campaigns against the decision.

The culprit this time is the Tory MP Julian Lewis. In response to the High Court judgment that the addresses of MPs’ second homes should be released, he’s demanding that the home addresses of the judges presiding over the case also be made public. The reason? None, beyond sheer pettiness. And that’s not something that becomes our parliamentary representatives.

Thankfully, Jack Straw’s declining to release the addresses. But this is exactly the kind of thing that Cameron needs to clamp down on if the Tories are to become the anti-trough party. Alright, Lewis’ demands can’t be equated with expenses fiddling. But, nevertheless, they fuel the idea that politicians loathe the transparency they owe the public.