Does he have the guts?
November 19th, 2009 | This post was written by Fiona MelvilleDoes Gordon Brown have the guts to suspend Harriet Harman from her Cabinet positions? She is about to be taken to court over two driving offences (driving without due care and attention, and driving while using a mobile). She apparently left the scene of her accident proclaiming, “I’m Harriet Harman, you know where to get hold of me.”
In much the same way as Baroness Scotland should have been sacked over breaking her own law, Harriet Harman should be suspended until her case comes to court and if found guilty, she should be sacked too.
Yes this is holding politicians to a higher standard than the rest of us – but they are the people who make the law, and they should be even more careful than the rest of us about obeying it. If they don’t like their laws, perhaps they shouldn’t have introduced them in the first place.
The depressing thing about this, though, is that she probably won’t be suspended, she probably won’t be sacked even if she is found guilty, and Brown will carry on leaking what authority he has left.
I am not a fan of Harriet Harman’s politics (though I do confess a sneaking admiration for her willingness to do feisty battle) but I would think a great deal more of her if she appeared on the news tomorrow and said that as a lawmaker, the suspicion that she broke the law must be dealt with in the most transparent way possible, and she does not believe it to be right that she can legislate for the rest of us while she is under suspicion. If she doesn’t though, it’s unlikely I will be able to think less of her!
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Tags: Accountability, Brown, Responsibility
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November 19th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Leaving aside the substance of the problem, David Curry has done exactly the right thing by standing aside from the Chairmanship of the Commons Standards & Privileges Committee while his expenses are investigated.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
No Gordon is a coward pure and simple.