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Fifty-six Lib Dem PPCs have put their name to an open letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin:
Dear Mr Speaker,Â
As Parliament continues to be dragged down by the allowance system, and its rules, the role of those in public service across the country is being undermined.Â
We are Liberal Democrat candidates seeking to be elected to Parliament and yet we find ourselves disappointed, and frustrated, at the way in which this matter is being handled. Every day our residents are telling us loudly that this must stop and this must stop now.Â
Three things stand out:
• The resistance to the releasing of these documents and the attempt to exclude Parliament from the Freedom of Information requirementsÂ
• The way in which Norman Baker and Kate Hoey were treated when they sought to raise legitimate concernsÂ
• The fact that, through you, Parliament could now release the information into the public domain and cut short this parade of drip-fed news and empower MPs and citizens through a new transparent relationship.Â
It is vital that Parliament must become transparent and accountable now. We call on you, as Speaker of the House, to do everything within your power to force the full publication of all expenses immediately. We also call on you to accept the independent review of MPs expenses and salaries chaired by Sir Christopher Kelly.Â
If you are unable to do this we then ask you to consider your position. Time is running out for politicians of all parties to repair the damage to our democracy.Â
Yours sincerelyÂ
56 Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates
Ed Fordham, Hampstead and Kilburn
Sal Brinton, Watford
Andrew Simpson, Northampton North
Bridget Fox, Islington South & Finsbury
Duncan Borrowman, Old Bexley and Sidcup
Steve Goddard, Oxford East
Adrian Collett, Aldershot
Adam Carew, East Hampshire
Gareth Epps, Reading East
Sally Morgan, Central Devon
Sue Doughty, Guildford
Rebecca Hunt. Chatham & Aylesford
Sarah Carr, Hereford and South HerefordshireÂ
Guy Voizey Canterbury and WhitstableÂ
Jo Shaw, Holborn and St Pancras
Liz Leffman, Meon VallleyÂ
Merlene Emerson, Hammersmith
Sandy Walkington, St AlbansÂ
Richard Burt, West Worcestershire
Caroline Pigeon, Vauxhall
Kevin Lang, Edinburgh North & Leith
Andrew Dakers, Brentford and Isleworth
Andrew Duffield,Hexham
David Kendall, Brentwood and Ongar
Ann Haigh, Epping Forest
Simon Wright, Norwich South
Liz Simpson, Tonbridge and Malling
Sam Webber, Bromley and Chislehurst
Rabi Martins – Luton North
Greg Stone, Newcastle East
Theo Butt-Philip, Bridgwater and West Somerset
Dave Radcliffe, Birmingham Selly Oak
Richard Clein, Sefton Central
Mike Cox, Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Andy Stamp, Gillingham & Rainham
Stephen Lloyd, Eastbourne & Willingdon
Mark Blackburn, Westminster North
Denis Healy, Hull North
Robin Lawrence, Wolverhampton South West
Alex Feakes, Lewisham and West Penge
Andrew Falconer, Brighton Pavilion
Dave McBride, Orpington
Nigel Quinton, Hitchin & Harpenden
Alan Beddow, Warwick and Leamington
David Goodall, Southampton Itchen
Ryk Downes, Leeds Central
Chris Took, Ashford
Peter Wilcock, Saffron Walden
Karen Hamilton, Birmingham Perry Barr
Qurban Hussain, Luton South
Keith Angus, Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Stephen Robinson, Chelmsford
Mike Bell, Weston-super-MareÂ
Dave Raval, Hackney South and Shoreditch
Fred Mackintosh, Edinburgh South
Munira Wilson, Feltham and Heston
Paul Zukowskyj, Welwyn Hatfield
The letter is here, on Facebook. No word yet whether the Speaker is also on Facebook. Although Jonathan Calder has found his blog.
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Last night, I watched Question Time, and found it profoundly depressing. Then fired up the Virgin box to see what was interesting on iPlayer and 4OD. Firstly there was Extended HIGNFY, which was fun (not least for spotting the extra bits, since I’d already watched the shorter version). Then ideas ran short.
By this point P was home, and jokingly, expecting him to object, I fired up an edition of Countdown – previously I had no idea you could get Countdown on 4OD.
We were quickly captivated. I have no idea who the new host is or the numbers-and-letters woman is. Thank heavens for Susie Dent (( my goodness what a woman of mystery – look at the Discussion page on WP – when was she born? Is she married? who knows! )) !
The first numbers and letters game came perilously close to swearing, and you can see pretty much everyone involved struggling not to giggle.
“Please try for better than 5 letters.”
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image (c) Alex Folkes/Fishnik.com and republished here under the terms of the creative commons licence on Flickr.com
A small sigh of relief is audible in some Lib Dem circles as the Telegraph spotlight turns to the serried ranks of Lib Dem MPs.
So far, the scale of dubious claims by our MPs is not in the same league as those of the other parties. No moats, no pools, no tennis courts, no flipping of houses. Just some rather excessive interior design and a trouser press.
There has been a long standing joke in Private Eye about trouser presses, so it is more than a little odd to see one turn up in a more serious context.
Just a few more thoughts about the whole issue – cui bono? Well, the Telegraph for one – their publication of the expenses scandals over the last few days has bumped their circulation by nearly 100,000 copies. So it looks like forking out for the leaked information has more than paid its way.
There’s an excellent rant by Sarah Teather MP in the Guradina pointing out that this is essentially a problem of MPs’ own making – they had opportunities to fix the problem before it came to a head, but voted down reform, and nearly voted to conceal expenses altogether.
See also Ming Campell’s explanation of his expenses.
For those thinking like Norman Tebbit and considering backing a smaller party in the Euro elections – think carefully. The European Parliament is an important institution, whether you like it or not, and it needs members who will work. Do you want to be represented by a hard working Liberal Democrat with an excellent attendance record or a permatanned celebrity who will get elected for one party, quit it, form another party, quit that too, and not shown his face much in his constituency at all? Even the Nottingham Evening Post could not reach him for comment on his performance on his term in office over the last five years.
In other news, the Lib Dems launched their Euro manifesto today. I don’t like the design much, but I have high hopes for the content. We are the pro-EU party – and our key message is “stronger together, poorer apart.” But our manifesto is clear that Europe is not perfect and we have a checklist of problems that need fixing.
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