Elliot Morley, MP for Scunthorpe, has been suspended until further notice and could face expulsion from the party when his case is discussed by the National Executive Committee in a meeting next Tuesday.
Gordo announced the suspension this afternoon at the launch of our now almost certainly doomed European and local election campaign.
If Morley survives the NEC meeting as he is likely to considering his close ties to the current leadership, then the CLP must take steps to select an alternative candidate if they are to retain any credibility at all.
It should not be necessary to remind CLP members what happened at Tatton in the 1997 general election after the Tatton Conservative Association refused to select an alternative candidate to the now throughly disgraced Neil Hamilton.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Double Act
Tory MP Andrew MacKay has 'resigned' his post as parliamentary adviser to David Cameron after it came to light that he had claimed the full second home allowance for their London home while his wife Julie Kirkbride, MP for Bromsgrove, had claimed the full second home allowance for their constituency home.
As we've come to expect, MacKay is defending this arrangement claiming that it had been agreed with the Fees Office, but has agreed to appear before David Cameron's scrutiny panel to discuss how much of this allowance should be paid back.
With such a blatant case of fraud - the second to be revealed in less than 24 hours - David Cameron should be pressing MacKay to stand down instead of simply resigning as an 'adviser' and agreeing to discuss whether he should repay some of the money.
More importantly, with such pitifully weak responses from both sides of the house, this may well have effectively handed control of the Commons to the first party to promise criminal proceedings against any MP who has defrauded the system as blatantly as Morley and MacKay have done.
As we've come to expect, MacKay is defending this arrangement claiming that it had been agreed with the Fees Office, but has agreed to appear before David Cameron's scrutiny panel to discuss how much of this allowance should be paid back.
With such a blatant case of fraud - the second to be revealed in less than 24 hours - David Cameron should be pressing MacKay to stand down instead of simply resigning as an 'adviser' and agreeing to discuss whether he should repay some of the money.
More importantly, with such pitifully weak responses from both sides of the house, this may well have effectively handed control of the Commons to the first party to promise criminal proceedings against any MP who has defrauded the system as blatantly as Morley and MacKay have done.
But which one is the bigger joke?
I heard an appallingly bad joke from one of our activists last night.
After many, many years of hard work researchers have finally identified who put the c**t into Scunthorpe. They can now say with large degree of certainty that it was the people who voted for Elliot Morley MP.
This of course is a reference to his admission that he continued to claim £800 per month in mortgage payments for full 18 months after it had been paid off in 2006. Naturally he is claiming that this was a mistake and not a blatant fraud which would have landed anyone else in front of the local Crown Court.
While in extremely poor taste, this does show just how far the labour party has fallen when party activists are mocking the MPs they worked so hard to get elected in the first place.
MP repays mortgage expense error
After many, many years of hard work researchers have finally identified who put the c**t into Scunthorpe. They can now say with large degree of certainty that it was the people who voted for Elliot Morley MP.
This of course is a reference to his admission that he continued to claim £800 per month in mortgage payments for full 18 months after it had been paid off in 2006. Naturally he is claiming that this was a mistake and not a blatant fraud which would have landed anyone else in front of the local Crown Court.
While in extremely poor taste, this does show just how far the labour party has fallen when party activists are mocking the MPs they worked so hard to get elected in the first place.
MP repays mortgage expense error
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Another one rides the bus
Another new labour MP jumped on the tory's bandwagon this morning by offering to repay 'all' of the money claimed for "fittings, furniture and household items" for his second home over a five year period.
All this might seem like a good start but in reality is nothing more than a token gesture with the very worst offenders being conspicuously silent on the matter. It's certainly no coincidence that most of those making this 'gesture' have much smaller majorities than would be considered 'safe' under normal circumstances.
By comparison the Metropolitan Police - an organisation with a long history of corruption, greed and professional misconduct - arrested three of it's officers yesterday in connection with a number of offences relating to inflated expenses claims, including misconduct in a public office, conspiracy to defraud, theft and false accounting.
Anger grows over Hope's expenses
Labour minister to repay £41,709
Officers arrested over expenses
All this might seem like a good start but in reality is nothing more than a token gesture with the very worst offenders being conspicuously silent on the matter. It's certainly no coincidence that most of those making this 'gesture' have much smaller majorities than would be considered 'safe' under normal circumstances.
By comparison the Metropolitan Police - an organisation with a long history of corruption, greed and professional misconduct - arrested three of it's officers yesterday in connection with a number of offences relating to inflated expenses claims, including misconduct in a public office, conspiracy to defraud, theft and false accounting.
Anger grows over Hope's expenses
Labour minister to repay £41,709
Officers arrested over expenses
Anyone but the BNP
Tory Peer Norman Tebbit, former party chairman, is urging people to "teach the big parties a lesson" and "show them who is master" by boycotting them in the forthcoming European Elections. Lord Tebbit did not endorse any specific party but he did stress that he did not want people voting for the BNP.
It is interesting to note that one of the largest of these smaller parties are Eurosceptics as is Lord Tebbit himself so this is probably not a coincidence. Particularly as the UK Independence Party is the only one coming out of the expenses fiasco with clean hands having dealt "absolutely ruthlessly" with both Tom Wise and Ashley Mote after their 'financial irregularities' came to light.
More importantly, if the "public anger" and "sense of betrayal" which many political commentators have been referring to recently is reflected in the results of the next month's European elections then the UKIP could take a majority of the seats being contested.
Whether this would constitute the "pretty powerful shot across the bows" Lord Tebbit believes Tory, Lib-Dem and Labour MPs need is debatable but it's certainly not something they can afford to ignore.
Naturally, Lord Tebbit's own party are not too pleased with him about this and Tory leader David Cameron warned him that he risks being expelled from the tory group of peers.
Boycott big parties, says Tebbit
It is interesting to note that one of the largest of these smaller parties are Eurosceptics as is Lord Tebbit himself so this is probably not a coincidence. Particularly as the UK Independence Party is the only one coming out of the expenses fiasco with clean hands having dealt "absolutely ruthlessly" with both Tom Wise and Ashley Mote after their 'financial irregularities' came to light.
More importantly, if the "public anger" and "sense of betrayal" which many political commentators have been referring to recently is reflected in the results of the next month's European elections then the UKIP could take a majority of the seats being contested.
Whether this would constitute the "pretty powerful shot across the bows" Lord Tebbit believes Tory, Lib-Dem and Labour MPs need is debatable but it's certainly not something they can afford to ignore.
Naturally, Lord Tebbit's own party are not too pleased with him about this and Tory leader David Cameron warned him that he risks being expelled from the tory group of peers.
Boycott big parties, says Tebbit
Monday, 11 May 2009
Away with the fairies
Well the apologies started in earnest this morning with Gordo jumping on the bandwagon at the Royal College of Nursing conference in Harrogate, North Yorkshire with the following lacklustre effort.
"I want to apologise on behalf of politicians on behalf of all parties for what has happened in the events of the last few days."
Fairly bland 'I'm sorry we got caught' nonsense of the sort one would expect from the socially retarded and not the Prime Minister of a modern democracy, but not totally unexpected of course. However he soon followed it up with this.
"We must show that, where mistakes have been made and errors have been discovered, where wrongs have to be righted, that it is done so immediately."
Mistakes? Errors? Is he totally deranged?
With everything which has been made public so far, it's difficult to comprehend how Gordo could still believe he can gloss any of this over as a mistake or an error.
I suppose the most charitable explanation is that the strain has finally pushed him over the edge and he is now living in some deluded fantasy where people still believe what he says.
Brown apology over MPs' expenses
"I want to apologise on behalf of politicians on behalf of all parties for what has happened in the events of the last few days."
Fairly bland 'I'm sorry we got caught' nonsense of the sort one would expect from the socially retarded and not the Prime Minister of a modern democracy, but not totally unexpected of course. However he soon followed it up with this.
"We must show that, where mistakes have been made and errors have been discovered, where wrongs have to be righted, that it is done so immediately."
Mistakes? Errors? Is he totally deranged?
With everything which has been made public so far, it's difficult to comprehend how Gordo could still believe he can gloss any of this over as a mistake or an error.
I suppose the most charitable explanation is that the strain has finally pushed him over the edge and he is now living in some deluded fantasy where people still believe what he says.
Brown apology over MPs' expenses
Panic in da House
I heard a rumour this morning that certain members of the leadership have been discussing the possibility of calling an immediate general election.
If true, I can only assume that they are hoping this most singular act of desperation will distract attention from the expenses row and allow them to quietly sweep it under the rug during the fuss attending the run up to a general election.
This may save individual MPs, particularly if they fail to retain their seat as the tabloids will probably lose interest once they are out of office. Their readership certainly will as the majority of them have the attention span of a four year old. But in doing so, it will almost certainly destroy the Labour Party as an effective force in British politics. The 'two horse race' will once again be the sole province of the tories and the liberals.
However what's far more likely is that this rumour is simply an expression of the sense of panic prevalent amongst MPs as they await further revelations.
More importantly, it shows that new labour MPs simply do not care about the party or the people who elected them. It shows how they're willing to sacrifice this party's future to save their own miserable hides.
If true, I can only assume that they are hoping this most singular act of desperation will distract attention from the expenses row and allow them to quietly sweep it under the rug during the fuss attending the run up to a general election.
This may save individual MPs, particularly if they fail to retain their seat as the tabloids will probably lose interest once they are out of office. Their readership certainly will as the majority of them have the attention span of a four year old. But in doing so, it will almost certainly destroy the Labour Party as an effective force in British politics. The 'two horse race' will once again be the sole province of the tories and the liberals.
However what's far more likely is that this rumour is simply an expression of the sense of panic prevalent amongst MPs as they await further revelations.
More importantly, it shows that new labour MPs simply do not care about the party or the people who elected them. It shows how they're willing to sacrifice this party's future to save their own miserable hides.
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