Thursday 12 May 2011

I want to sack my MP, forgotten promises and David Laws

It was announced today that David Laws has been let off  very lightly after acting in a way that could be argued is fraudulent. The rights and wrongs of Law's actions aside it raises an interesting point about MP's and how their conduct is governed. It seems to be up to Westminster how to deal with wayward Members of Parliament the public have no recourse to decide the fate in such cases. In effect politicians police themselves.

After the expenses scandal both Nick Clegg and David Cameron were quick to recognise that the public were justly angry at MP's dipping into taxpayers pockets for all sorts of things from biscuits to duck ponds to rocking chairs. They both came up with the same solution and that was to give the public the right to hold their representatives to account, sack your MP the Conservative manifesto boasts and the Liberal Democrat leader offered You will have the right to sack your MP if they are proved corrupt. Now we hear endlessly from both leaders that they can't enact all their policies because of the coaliton. But in this case they both agree wholeheartedly and they've had a year to enact this policy. Time to roll up those sleeves Dave!

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