The price wasn't right. The expenses scandal has come back to haunt Britain’s MPs. And they weren’t ready for it.
Just when all the MP’s thought it was safe to finally concentrate on the election that is now only six months away, the expenses scandal - already their favourite part of the year - has come back to life. It now also seems even more likely that it will have a profound effect on that election.
Anticipating this, the three leaders have made all of the right noises. Brown and Cameron fell over each other to let their MPs know that if they didn’t give up the loot they’d be like Shakespeare in a pub come next spring/summer. The thought of not being able to stand will scare enough of their charges into towing the line. But a few of them might decide to jack it all in, even if it’s a hasty decision they subsequently regret. Should it come to pass, will they be high profile enough to cause a game changing stink?
That it was Brown who called in Sir Thomas Legg has incensed his MP’s in the way few things have. But the most high profile moaner has been Ann Widdecombe (btw Cameron’s assertion, in his conference speech, that the economic crisis was the fault of big government was all kind of wrong. There was no mention of the banks or financial markets! Is he lying or just really forgetful?)
Sadly, at this point, it doesn’t seem to matter too much what the Lib Dems do. The chorus of Sean Paul’s Like Glue, strangely, springs to mind (‘I don’t really care what dem want do.’) That’s probably why Nick Clegg knew he could try and appear to be tough on expenses by claiming Sir Thomas’s remit should be expanded.
It’s a big let down that the question of MP’s expenses was absent from the first PMQs since the summer recess. Things like this lay bare the obvious hypocrisy that is always present. The leaders, especially whoever is in opposition, only bring up the subjects where political advantage seems likely.
The reception Nick Clegg repeatedly received - the booing he suffered was almost as loud as that recently suffered by Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor at the hands of the Arsenal supports who used to love him - showed that it was never far from the ‘hearts and minds’ of those assembled. Should our politicians be behaving like rowdy football fans? Granted, they’re not as bad as they can be in some countries, but they really need to fix up still.
Last but not least, THAT leader of THAT far right party will be on Question Time next week. Similarly to a small child who is showing off, the best thing to do in this particular instance is to look the other way. The real reason this is happening is because the BBC are expecting, and will probably get, extremely high ratings. So don’t let them have it. Even if you watch it on YouTube afterwards, don’t watch the actual broadcast. Boycott the whole series if you really want to.
Words: Russell Myrie. Russell is currently finishing off his debut novel and negotiating the early stages of a book about the life and murder of the one and only Jam Master Jay from Run DMC. He also wrote Don’t Rhyme For The Sake Of Riddlin’ the authorised biography of Public Enemy
Photo: Flickr user Liberal Democrats