This is (hopefully) my last word on expenses. The last week has been immeasurably damaging to MPs and to politics generally. The Houses of Parliament have been shown to be full of people who are, at best, cavalier with taxpayers’ money, or, at worst, have defrauded us.
Norman Tebbit’s intervention was not particularly welcome – but what he said was unsurprising. Not, pace Dave, because he is always critical of David Cameron. But because in many ways, what he was saying is absolutely right. People are fed up of politics as usual, and particularly of politicians who live the high life at our expense. It would not surprise me in the least if what Lord Tebbit was talking about happened – mass abstentions and fringe parties elected in the Euros almost certainly and in other elections as well.
But I don’t want to vote based on the past. I want to vote positively, I want to vote for something. Calling a general election now would mean we probably elect a very odd mixture of MPs. While variety is a good thing, and a few single-issue campaigners to keep the rest of them honest wouldn’t go amiss, I don’t want a group of people governing whose sole thought is ‘mustn’t claim expenses’ – I want a government that does the right thing for as many people as possible, as much of the time as possible, and as fairly as possible.
That will, as I have argued before, require some really unpopular decisions. There will be pain ahead. But I want a government that learns from mistakes and moves forward, not one that spends all its time looking to the past.
I want the Conservatives to make sure that every single current MP has their expenses checked. While most claims will no doubt be within the rules, I suspect a fair few will be outside the spirit of them. Some should have the Whip withdrawn; lots will be asked to repay money. Others may be asked to stand down by their constituency associations, and others may decide to retire. Once the new system is agreed and in place, that should be the end of it.
After that, I want the Conservatives to get on with planning for government because it’s going to be a horrible first term and they need to make sure they are as ready as possible for what lies ahead.
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