I wasn’t hugely interested in the fuss over the re-selection of sitting Tory MEPs when it reared its head a few months ago, if I’m honest. I was a tacit supporter of Tim Montgomerie’s campaign for more openness over disclosure of the full set of selection results - all the data, including the number of spoiled ballot papers, should be released. Nor could I understand the closed nature of the process: no hustings, and automatic top-billing for sitting MEPs (not to mention the bizarre sexism of the selection process for party members, when they were finally allowed to cast a vote). But I’m very guilty of a particularly unTory sin – I don’t care about Europe that much. Sorry.
Given that, how to respond to the continuing drizzle of sickening news about the behaviour of so many Tory MEP incumbents? It’s only a few months since David Cameron gave his speech about transparency, pointing out that to stay within the letter of the law wasn’t good enough, that expense claims and family arrangements had to pass a sort of ‘good smell’ test. Unbelievably, he had to exert pressure on many Tory MEPs to release details of their expense claims and, still more unbelievably, yesterday I read that nine Tory MEPs have failed to sign up to a commitment to transparency in their financial dealings.
It’s not good enough – politically or ethically – for us to attempt to distract attention, by pointing out the ludicrous nature of the disgusting expenses claimed by Labour MPs (Mrs Beckett’s ridiculous claims for garden plants, the Balls’ and their amazing north Hackney home, which they own without paying a penny of their income to service the mortgage interest, etc ad nauseam). The party of the centre-right, which aims to make the electorate vibrate with a recognition that any Tory government will be a better steward of taxpayers’ money than any Labour one, simply cannot tolerate a situation where our elected representatives make tens of thousands of pounds by manipulating rules designed by their greedy peers. Elected representatives have to be made to understand that legality and rule-honouring are only one, minor, component of the standards expected of anyone in public or private business. Far, far more important is to maintain integrity. If you’re doing something with money which would cause embarrassment to anyone normal, you’ve crossed the line.
So here’s my proposal, aimed at fixing two issues in one stroke. DC could demonstrate to the party membership and the wider public that he both believes in localism and democracy, and that he means what he says about leading a party of integrity, by:
Announcing that the European Parliament Conservative candidate selection process is void, and is to be re-run in its entirety;
Replacing the rigged grandee system (which delivered the mess we’re in) with a sequence of open, regional primaries. Any registered voter in a euro-seat should be able to vote for any (validated by Party Board) putative Conservative candidate.
Of course there are some first-class serving Tory MEPs: but I don’t think the Dan Hannans or the Syed Kamalls of this world would have much to fear from such a proposal. And of course the proposal could be amended: automatic re-selection for any sitting MEP who is completely open about their financial arrangements, for example.
Such a proposal would deliver a cleansing of the stables: none of the current crop of expense-abusing reprobates would stand a chance of re-selection, and, simultaneously, our commitment to localism and openness would be enhanced. A win with the public (on sleaze and transparency and trust) and a win with the members. In the much-maligned world of mega-corporation, where I work – you know, the place where we have to account for every penny we spend – this is called a ‘win-win’.
I’m sure that such a move would cause outrage within some of our sitting cohort – those who have dragged our resurgent party into disrepute. Like, who cares? Most of us would barely notice if they moved en masse to the Communist bloc. A supreme sense of self-importance, manifested through a cavalier attitude to public money, appears to be one of the hallmarks of a particular caste of Tory MEP. Let it also be his nemesis: get rid of the lot of them, and start again.
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Graeme – you are quite right. Let’s hope that someone with the power to do something is reading this!
Good article Graham. Just one objection – why would any sitting MEP have the right to be reselected just because they have been open about expenses? Performance should count – one Conservative MEP has given 2 speeches in 4 years. I think he has disclosed that his wife recives £60,000 a year as his secretary. The whole slate should be revised at the beginning of the 4th year of each electoral cycle.
Apologies. Graeme, for spelling your name wrongly.
Hear hear. The MEPs who have their snouts in the trough really ought to be “retired” and replaced by people with more solid, representative Eurosceptic views.
I totally agree , the original approach of simply putting sitting MEPs at the top of the list was an affront to Party members. All should be required to offer themselves in open competition with anyone else who wants to stand.