The Great Stink

Never has Parliament been in such a disarray since the Great Stink of 1858. Then it was the over powering smell of the river Thames and the open sewers that discharged into it that caused MPs to abandon Westminster. Today it is the stink of corruption, greed and self satisfying hypocrisy that at the heart of Parliament's problems. But the revelations of the Daily telegraph over the last two weeks  are only a reflection of life in Britain today and there will be many MPs that will consider keeping their mouths shut for just a little longer until the fuss has died down and the great British public is more interested in celebrating the reunion of Jordan and Pete or criticising the judges on "Has Britain Got talent", to worry about some MP getting away with claiming for benefits they were not entitled to. In any case whilst the papers are slaying the MPs it takes the limelight off the thousands of others that are claiming benefits to which they are not entitled, or for which they are entitled but if they got their fat arse out of bed a bit more often they wouldn't need. 

As much as there is a need for political reform, to make the MPs more accountable to the voters, there is also a need for a wider social reform.  Whether there is the will to make the changes necessary i don't know but until we either find the will, or are led kicking and screaming back to reality, we shall continue on this downward spiral. 

Many blame immigration for our troubles but the one factor that binds the vast majority of immigrants is that they come here for a better life and are willing to work hard to get it. Working hard doesn't seem to be the English way anymore though, its more a case of take what there is and p*** it up against the wall. 

Get rid of the erring MPs by all means, all of them if need be, society expects it, and the laws of justice demand it. But lets see a similar sweep through both public and private life exposing the tax fiddles, the benefit fraud, the wasters and the workshy, whether they be sitting in the House of Lords or the Red Lion bar. As a start we can stop using the expression Great Britain, until we can say that we have earned the title, and stop saying the United Kingdom until we are truly united in producing a fair and just community in which everyone contributes up to the limit of their capabilities. Until then, as in Victorian London, the great stink will return on a regular basis.

Yeah But...

There's been so much written about the MPs expenses scandal, what's the point of adding to it? Well, because i am angry, and I hope that you are angry too, and keep being angry! A number of the MPs will be hoping that now Speaker Martin has been removed, if they keep their heads down for a couple of weeks it will all blow over and, whilst they may loose a few perks, they will still be in a job, that pays a decent wage with a very good pension. Well lets not let them keep their heads down, unless it is with shame. 

Don't let them get away with yeah but .. it was within the rules. If they had any judgement at all they knew that it was wrong. But did anyone really try to get things changed. Even David Cameron, who has taken advantage of the situation to demonstrate a few leadership skills, he must have known that you could ride a coach and horses through the allowances scheme, and get the tax payer to pay for the horses. Yet it was not until the cover was blown that there was a lot of huffing and puffing about the need to change the rules.

If any MP that feels that the daily Telegraph has questioned their integrity, then let him, or her, stand down and ask the electorate for their opinion. 

And if the MPs won't stand down, then let us all do what they have done to Speaker Martin. Let us all, shout out as loud and as often as it takes to get them to resign.

 Its clear that Gordon Brown is not going to call an election one moment before he has to, so the only way get a real change is for the electorate to tell them to go, and to go now. 

Although we have had reports on the TV and in the papers about just how angry the public are about the revelations I don't think that it has been displayed as much as an eviction, or non eviction from Big Brother. 

Write to the paper, phone the local radio station, email and write to your MP and tell him to resign so that we can have an election.  Tell them not to pass Go, not to collect another £200 but to go, go now, and we may not shout too loudly if they don't go directly to Jail.

The Last Straw

Jack Straw, the Uk JUSTICE SECRETARY over-claims on his expenses for 4 years and says that he has done nothing wrong. He adds that accountancy is not his strongest suit. Well if he can't add up and he is not honest, and how do you explain such repetitive errors other than dishonesty, or perhaps, incompetence, what does he bring to the cabinet table? 

Alistair Darling does not appear to know whether he is coming or going, after repeatingly changing his mind over the the location of his "second home", each time, surprisingly, to his advantage in being able to claim more and more to feather this "nest". He even claimed for the cost of running his home in his Scottish constituency when living at our expense at No 11, long after the parliamentary commissioner told the Government, of which, remember, our darling friend is a member that this was "wrong".

Hazel Blears, responsible for housing policy, also had this inability to decide just where she lives, claiming for expenses at several homes, and the costs of furnishing them, in a short period of time. Her claims, we are told, are within the pound to the maximum permissible under the rules. Perhaps she can give the Justice Secretary a hand with his accounts. 

Even Gordon Brown has been in on the act, both when he was Chancellor and since becoming Prime Minister.  He appears to have paid for little of his own living costs since moving into No 10 on becoming Prime Minister nearly two years ago. 

The culture secretary says that he has "under claimed" by more than £40K, but what does that say about the "culture" by which his dishonourable colleagues appear to live? MPs have been in the privileged position to set down the rules by which they can be reimbursed, the costs of working in more than one geographical area, their constituency and Westminister. Their belief, in setting the current rules, that these were fair, reasonable and decent can only reflect on the morals by which they live. 

According to the Daily Telegraph, the list goes on. We have only had the first batch of these revelations leaked to us. No doubt over the coming days and weeks we will receive more stories of greed concerning other members of this House of Wastes. 

"Good lord" Mandelson, we are told, went on to claim expenses on his home even after giving his resignation, so we can expect a flurry of claims from at least the Government benches during the next few months as they must all, surely, question their position after the next election. 

Perhaps the next Prime Minister should be looking to employ Gordon Brown's cleaner to clean up the mess that the present Government has left us with, but no doubt it will be us that will be paying the bill.