I used to like visiting the Palace of Westminster. It brought back fond
memories of British Constitution O level. I liked the sense of national
centrality, complacent history, clubbable purpose. I liked the civility of
officials and the way the police on the door - like those who guard
Buckingham Palace - somehow exude a faint holiday air. I even quite liked
the dreadful cod-medieval hatchments and the outbreaks of rod-banging and
cries of I-spy-strangers.
Not any more. There is a sense that gilded panelling is camouflage for
grubbiness. Parliament hangs on to words about itself - Honourable and
learned... honourable and gallant - like a comedy trollop wailing “I'm a
good girl, I am”. Most importantly of all, there is an insulting dislocation
between the self-regulated “honour” of MPs and the mistrust they load on the
rest of us.
Listening to John Spellar's defence of Speaker Martin was a queasy business.
All he could do - as chair of the committee on expenses - was to trumpet
that there is nothing to worry about, MPs work hard, there is “not one shred
of evidence” that anybody claims on a non-existent mortgage or sucks up
allowances for money they haven't spent. He added that those who worried
about the Speaker's wife's taxi bill are “snobs”, while getting pretty
snobby himself about journalists.
Certainly the Conway affair was recognised and - up to a point - punished (no
fraud charges yet, I note). But it shone a dreary light on to the routine
licence permitted to MPs. And given the increasing institutional
suspiciousness the rest of us suffer, it demonstrated that the last people
in the country to be trusted by MPs are MPs themselves.
If your child, nephew, friend or sister-in-law wants work experience (even
unpaid) at the BBC these days, for instance, there is no way an insider can
fix it. It is, rightly, centralised in the name of fairness and diversity.
Private recruiters are hedged in by anti-discrimination laws. Yet MPs and
ministers, their honourable white noses in the air, may on a whim employ not
only a spouse but children, lovers, friends and in-laws. There is a
reasonable case for the spouse if constituencies are distant; for the rest
there is no excuse. These are public jobs on public money, privileges
carrying marketable CV cachet. Derek Conway's problem was that his son
wasn't doing much; but even if he was, it would stink.
Sir Christopher Kelly has expressed a need to look again at the family rule,
and there seems to be a move towards tighter oversight of expenses. Good.
Next we need action on former ministers who cash in with private sector
sinecures. Gordon Brown, in opposition, spoke scornfully of the Tories'
“revolving door from Cabinet to boardroom”. But 28 Labour ministers have
passed through it, grinning. Patricia Hewitt is tied up with private medical
outfits; David Blunkett is adviser to an ID card bidder. As for Tony
Yo-Blair making a US fortune after the misery that his transatlantic
sycophancy wrought on British troops and tranquillity, words fail me.
Those who represent us should live on the same planet and not squeal at
reform. For everything has changed, and they did it. Consider: there was a
time when professionals in Britain enjoyed a high degree of collegiate
self-regulation and trust. The assumption was that doctors, teachers,
military and police knew their jobs. Today they are subject to targets,
league tables and mistrustful demands for statistics. The past was not
perfect, but a sledgehammer of regulation has been set on a nut.
Everywhere a culture of mandatory paperwork and back-covering wastes time and
erodes goodwill. A lovely example from the NHS: chap with serious but
intermittent condition goes to see eminent consultant; symptoms have abated
so consultant says: “OK, come straight to me next time it happens and I can
do tests.” NHS clipboard-woman says: “Are you signing this patient off or
making a future appointment?” “Neither,” says the doctor patiently. “I need
to see him when the condition is active.” Row ensues between clipboard woman
and doctor, she being unable to grasp the organic, unpredictable nature of
medicine and wanting only to tick a box.
Everyone, especially in public service, has similar examples of suspicious,
mechanistic monitoring; nursery teachers must list each “skill” their
charges acquire and you can't take children on a nature walk without filing
a “risk assessment”. And note that if you are genuinely “honourable” and
give your time free as a museum trustee or parish councillor, you must fill
in intrusive forms about your connections and finances on the assumption
that given a chance everyone's on the fiddle. And just you try claiming
home-as-office expenses anywhere like those Michael Martin rakes in: the
Revenue will be down your throat.
Meanwhile MPs - reasonably paid and holding gilded pension rights - rack up
dubious expenses and employ their families on public money. It has the same
effect as when John Prescott went unpunished after a squalid affair with a
subordinate, on office premises. In the real world, it could have been
“gross misconduct” and the sack. Yet he was part of a government whose laws
have made the workplace ever primmer: good people lose jobs or have their
businesses crippled on mere assertion that they glanced at a leg or used an
inappropriate word.
It cannot be that the only people immune from watchful regulation are those
who decree it. From lechery to nepotism, from creative expenses to the use
of public prestige to rake in directorships, you can't abolish trust in
other professionals and still expect it yourself. Honour isn't working.
Kis of Edinburgh doesn`t seem to realise that the Scots in London will not allow us, the English, to have a paliament of our own, so, how can we follow Edinburgh, we have to do what these Scots tell us to do! Would you like to have them back?
Raymond Groutage, Ringwood, Hampshire., England
A slow drift back to the days of 'ruling class' has taken place. I believe this is a drift further towards the role of MP being used as a platform for furthering personal interests and not for serving the public and country. A good career path: school, university (study something that looks good on paper but does not lead to a relevant profession), take a political party office job, become an MP. Whilst an MP you will enjoy the salary, have the perks of the expenses (old boys will teach you how to fill out the forms), make some good contacts (at public funded meetings). After a few years of keeping your nose clean (and your other extremities) and talking the talk you can retire to a nice pension and a role on the board of a company one of the nice people you met at a function just offers you out of the blue for no related reason, if you are lucky it may be something you dealt with on a comittee not so long ago.
IT IS TRANSPARANT ALREADY, MP'S DO THE JOB FOR A REASON 'SELF INTEREST'
Jim Green, Plymouth,
If we cannot trust the politians to be honest with their own expenses, how can we trust them on anything else ???
Basically we cannot.
Note for Marty of London, If Westminster MP's had to declare their expenses in the same way that Scottish MSP's do, these crooks would have been found out years ago.
Another thing that Scotland is get right, Westminster should follow suit.
LJS, EDINBURGH,
Make MPs taste a bit of their own medicine -the article suggests. That will be revenge, and sweet no doubt, but would only make matters worse. The article rightly describes the nonsensical regulations that plague doctors and business people alike. It rightly says that it results in backcovering work, that it stifles initiative and responsibility, and that it makes stupidity an unavoidable fact of life. All right, but do you really want more of that on your Parliament? Some regulations might do some good, but one should not look at them as the main solution.
The Romans said: the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. People must keep an eye on the conduct of those who govern them, and on their skill as well. At elections, punish and reward officials based on their past conduct and achievements, not on what they promise to do. Don't tell me that this is impossible because then democracy is impossible. There is the illusion that one can set up a number of directives and then rest safe.
Ariel Barbero, La Plata, Argentina
For those of us left with a touch of naivity to believe that going further west or rather north-west there is still uprightness to be found, this is really bad news.
I think that the basic problem overall is that people in charge miss or ignore the very reason they are there because they are or never were in their "customer´s" place. Things cannot work at all when government members everywhere are always exceptions to the rules they built, policemen are exempted from the rules they have to protect, and so on.
No wonder they miss the point and are never able to understand or solve any problems for the "other" side of the game...
SB, Vienna, Austria
I completely agree and have for the past few months been blogging daily in this very area of what i call "Bent Society".
After the Blair years of spin its time we sought leaders who lead by example. They talk about respect but disrespect us in exactly the same way that young people do on the streets today. See: http://bentsocietyblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Respect
Police officers, Industry and government are becoming increasingly infantile and dishonourable and spouting disingenuous rhetoric. This stuff trickles down and infects our nation from the top - while those responsible blame the "underclass" for copying them.
Dr Society
http://bentsocietyblog.blogspot.com
Dr Society, London, England
Regardless of Mr Spellar's condescending views of the press, and sleazy support for his dubious cohorts, thank goodness for investigative and open reporting of the sleazebags at the centre of the system, who bring discredit on the entire system by virtue of their lack of virtue. Of course MPs are angry that the public have been made aware of the theft on a grand scale which goes on through MP's expenses, allowances and nepotism. They should however be aware that we, the general public, are a lot more angry!
Bryan Bailie, Newtownards, County Down
I am absolutely outraged at the politicians arrogance in this matter of being transparent with with all matters financial, pertinent to their public duties. Do these people forget who they are? They are public servants!! They work for the people of this country and are paid via the taxes collected from the people of this country. Excepting matters of Security and policies in debate, nearly all aspects of a politicians professional role should be open to scrutiny.
One Labour Politician remarked on the BBC Evening News tonight, "what can come of this Media Witch Hunt?" Well the answer is quite simple, control of how Parliament spends Public Money!!
When will Politicians understand who they work for? They are employed by the people of the United Kingdom, from the Prime Minister to Civil Servants and should be reminded of this fact!!
Chris Wortt, Basingstoke, United Kingdom
Great piece! Following the Conway disgrace i felt i had to protest somehow and wrote to my local MP all the Leaders,Standards Committee,Equalities Commission and Frank Field (because of his statement about Conway and exbezzlement) and you've guessed it the only reply denouncing the practice in the Commons was from Frank Field.He does seem to be a man of honour even if i dont always agree with him.What really bothers me though is the flagrant discrimination shown within the house and the fact that their inability to criticise each other is exactly what you find within gangs - who says young boys on estates dont have role models!.
As for the Equalities Commission they have sent me 2 Equal Opps statements but the helpline(only place you can send an email to) wont forward my email to anyone who can reply.
I genuinely feel despair.
marian, london, england
Is there no way in which a joint action can be financed and brought against Conway for his patently dishonest behaviour?If a leading newspaper were to begin the action I am convinced that the public would support the action financially.Nail one of them efficiently pour encourager les autres!
john aymar, audierne, france
Libby hits the nail on the head. John Speller's patronising diatribe on radio four yesterday summed up the problem. He dismissed all the critics, his defence being that private sector allowances are private, whereas M.P. allowances are in the public domain. Aside from the odd Chief Exec, who in a private company gets £17,000 a year to run their house, or can claim any allowances without a receipt. And he is on the committee reviewing allowances! A friend was recently given a written warning at work for over- claiming money for a sandwich by the order of 50 pence. That is the real world.
Tony, Leicester, England
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? The problem is over 2000 years old.
Dave, Wrexham,
Today's news simply piles on the sleaze. Yesterday David Winnick asked a perfectly reasonable question of the Speaker. He wanted to know why the report commissioned to look into MPs allowances could not announce its findings sooner than the autumn, pointing out that the reputation of the house was at issue.
He got a frosty reply from the Speaker who made it clear that he would remain in charge of the inquiry into this and that 'this was a good thing for the reputation of the house.' Then today it was suddenly all change as it was announced that the findings of the inquiry were to be published before the House rose in July.
We shall see if David Winnick is given the opportunity to ask a few more questions in the near future such as whether or not the Speaker's allowances are to be included in the findings and to press for an explanation as to what had changed so unexpectedly between yesterday afternoon and this morning to enable them to be brought forward by several months.
figurewizard, Hampshire, UK
I detect a sea change away from that public disinterest in the doings of our politicians which has allowed them to get away with murder. These people are not behaving like statesmen, and we're going through a time in our history when statesmen is exactly what we desperately need.
It's time they were called to account, and I applaud Libby Purves' article.
Max , London,
Many Brits are fond of counting the things their former colonies learnt/got from their rule. Nice to see the UK politicians are getting thick skinned about their "nice" practices - I am sure they will catch up fast with the politicians of most of the former colonies.
Arty, Oxford,
These people are all members of a very exclusive private club and can claim almost limitless expenses in addition to a quite generous salary,with virtually no checks and balances.They must be laughing all the way to the bank as they exploit a corrupt system,created by themselves.The joke is...wait for it....we,as the electorate vote them into this club and then suffer for it as they pass more and more intrusive, punitive and draconian laws to restrict us in every walk of life as they remain aloof from the real world.This is not the democracy that I grew up with and I, personally have had enough.
Josh Martin, Oxford, Gt. Britain
I listened to the MPs on the radio this morning. They seemed truculently determined to tell the press to butt out of their affairs, to backslap and support each other and acclaim their colleagues' integrity and upright moral stature.
There was virtually no impression given that any of them has considered that any of them had done much wrong.
It's time to end this ludicrous situation and have MPs subject to the same degree of scrutiny that any self employed person is routinely subjected to, e.g. keeping auditable accounts. Or of any company employee claiming expenses.
Enough of taxpayers paying their kids through uni, or paying the mortgage for their second homes, or every taxi they (or their family) may ever take, etc. etc. etc.
Make them subject to the same rules and petty inconveniences as the plebs they rule.
paul , sheffield, UK
Well, who will supervise the MPs, and what will prevent them from becoming corrupt? Surely, you have to trust someone somewhere. If it is all just a mechanical system, crooks and cheaters will surely reign supreme.
Jonathan, NYC, USA
It is breathtakingly sad to see the pompous hypocrisy of many of our politicians; even worse to see the political class as a whole unwilling to act in a meaningful way. Speaking personally, the effect of witnessing the dishonourable behaviour of the politicians over the last couple of decades has changed me from a lifelong Labour voter to a non voter. There simply is nowhere to place a vote with any confidence in any party.
Do these self serving mendacious people not realise that an essential aspect of democracy is representation of the people, not representation of themselves. And that by failing to represent the people they, as individuals, parties and as institutions are robbing us, the people, of our democracy.
May I suggest The Times forward a copy of this excellent article to all MPs and MEPs, together with the comments, and invite them all to reply. Reading their replies might enable some of us to regain some shred of confidence in them but I will not be holding my breath.
By the way, a risk assessment for a nature walk? You can’t even put them in a minibus and drive them to a restaurant without first doing a risk assessment, including a personal visit beforehand. Of course, if you are willing, to take them on a trip to Paris you and a colleague (ahem) could spend a weekend there at school’s expense doing your “risk assessmentâ€! It happens!
Jake, Blackburn, England
I thought the House could do with a proper spring clean but it seems nothing but a thorough fumigation will do!
Jim Golightly, Prudhoe, England
I couldn't agree more with Libby Purves.
Instead of forever reforming public services MP's should set about a root and branch reform of the operation of the House of Commons. Its procedures are so ridiculous and outmoded it is laughable.
Robert Skipworth, LEYLAND, UK
So, we have the Augean Stables but where is our Hercules?
m collins, Leeds,
The shameless behaviour of many MP's undermines the fabric of our society and sets an example that theft, dishonesty and immorality is OK. This in turn leads to more and more people doing what is right for them with no social conscience for the rest of the people. Both the Conservative and Labour parties have not served us well over the last 20 years with their contempt for the electorate who fund them - honourable members of parliament?
If personal integrity is at such a low ebb, then all we can do is demand ever tighter regulation. Failure to enact legislation will lead to a further breakdown in society as we follow our leaders example of greed and selfishness. This is the lot for people who appear to have lost a consciousness of right or wrong.
Robert Whitrow, Northampton, UK
A decade of Labour has degraded all our institutions. Civil servants are now spinners for one party, the BBC is kowed by Campbell's kicking, the Navy is apolitically correct joke, the judiciary now are a bench full of mutli-culti 'red hot chilli loving' chancers, any 'regulatory' bodies are stooges for Franco German profiteers, and now at the heart of the darkness we glimpse MPs, content to give away elected government, content with flaky postal voting, a complacent compost heap of youthful greed.
The Army is the one institution still of world class, and that of course is now starved of cash for its sacrifice and heroism: and no one cares a whit, HM 'loyal' opposition just slipstreams Labour hoping for the management job to fall in to its lap.
Dangerous: when the public so despises democracy itself - it's time to worry, a lot.
Tom, Wycombe, UK
Seems most folk agree that there is a desperate need to rescue our parliamentary sytem from the degradation that has reduced it to nothing more than a gravy train for its members.
How do we do this, where is our rallying point.
A website to gather effort together maybe ?
Sean, Coventry, UK
Politicians are selfish and self-absorbed. This would not be a problem (it is the natural state of everyone else, after all) were it not for the fact that there is no control over MPs and we are supposed meekly to accept their assertions of probity. If there is nothing to worry about, then publish all information and let us reach our own opinions.
Put it simply and in terms politicians can understand: the reason we have low turn-out in elections is because the people who stand for election are not worth the votes. We do not trust the people who want to be in parliament (bring back the Aristotelian idea of only appointing those who are reluctant!) and we do not trust them while they are there.
John Scott, London,
The day has finally arrived when the majority of the public have realised that the people elected to represent the public have very few morals. In the last ten years we have seen something more like an old style dictatorship than a democracy. The people creating the laws do not apply them to themselves and seem to think that either the public are too stupid or unaware of their antics. The bubble has burst and if reforms and strict accounting are not bought in soonest I fear the we shall descend into a Country with absolutely no interest in Government or politics, no morals,don't bother voting, hide your money, avoid taxes, take what you can, rip people off, whoops sorry, it's already happened. We have been shown the way by our leaders.
Roger, Surrey,
Fine, but the solution is obvious: reduce the number of national MPs across the EU. At present we in Europe suffer from a surfeit of democratic representatives and it's time to call a halt to this burgeoning bureaucracy. The UK, for example, now has 3 national parliaments/assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland along with regional representation in London and the European parliament. In Northern Ireland some of their MPs are triple jobbers as MPs, MLAs and local councillors. We used to put double jobbers in jail! In Greece we have over 300 MPs and the Greek people have indicated in household surveys that they would like this number reduced to around 200. I have no doubt the British peoples would also call for the House of Commons to be culled to around 350. As for the expenses of MEPs, this is a black hole. The major question is: Which group or organisation can take the necessary action to reduce the number of democratic reps? Cromwell, thou shouldst be living at this hour!
Dr David Green, Athens, Greece
I have one disagreement with Libby's view: MPs are not "reasonably" paid, they are paid very well indeed and, unlike the rest of the population, they seem to live day-to-day on expenses provided by the tax payer. Their salaries are mere pocket money and it is time MPs were brought back into the real world and made to pay for their existence. We do not get value for money from them. No wonder they come bottom of the "trust" league.
Tim Boulton, Petersfield, UK
Sadly, I think these thoughts are too true. Increasingly I find myself alarmed that our chosen representatives are mostly no more than setting themselves to find the best jollies without a thought of anything else! Indeed, I have come to view them as simple caricatures or the modern day version of the Sherrif of Nottingham. Please bring on Robin Hood and quickly!
David B, Burnley, UK
to ian payne,
i think oliver cromwell would have my vote.
james, doncaster, united kingdom
Excellent article and so depressingly true.
Jim Scott, Prestwick, Scotland
So who is going to have the guts to step in a bang a few heads together then in Parliament ? Thats the big question. One doesn't have to be in the media circus, London or Westminster to feel that things aint the same amongst our MP's !!!
Ian Payne, WALSALL,
This is truly excellent. I sincerely hope those with their noses in the air and hands in OUR POCKETS take time to read it & appreciate that I am sure, this is the consensus view.
Once there was a time when doing something like cheating on a wife, fraud, etc, etc was enough to convince an MP of even moderate standing that they should resign.
The trouble is, if all of those who are blatantly robbing us (and appear immune to the Freedom Of Information Act which would give us details of their sordid stealing) were to resign, there would be no-one left in those big, wide corridors of power...
Tim, Bristol,
But what can we the people of England do about it? - in a funny sort of way one would expect Gorden Brown to take some action, but he seems to go along with it - no one cares about the English tax payer - with a bit of luck the Scottish taxpayers will soon pay for all the Scottish MPs, it will be interesting to see what they get away with then - and then it's up to us to deal with the rest of the greedy takers - but how?
Marty, London, England