Restoring faith in British democracy Part II

Following on from my earlier article about how to restore faith in British politics, which was written as a response to the MPs expenses scandal, I now find myself writing an article on the scandal concerning the payback of those expenses.

The current review of MPs expenses, being led by Sir Thomas Legg, is to determine what should be repaid. Already, over three hundred letters have been sent out to MPs to either ask for further information to clarify a claim, or to demand that they return the money.

What is galling about this whole sorry episode is the fact that some MPs are so incensed by this, that they are threatening to refuse to pay the money back, with some threatening to take legal action (presumably at tax payers expense).

Having been caught red handed with their trotters well and truly in the till, having sucked on the teat of the tax payer's nipples, they now have the arrogance to whinge when asked to return what they were never entitled to in the first place. Their bleating that it is unfair and unjust is lamentable.

They were caught flipping their houses for personal gain, claiming for luxurious home appliances, moat cleaning and a duck pond amongst the most contemptible of their claims. In practically any other situation, they would have been charged with fraud. Now that they have been asked to return their ill gotten gains to the tax payer, it is appalling that some are so out of touch as to feel hard done by.

We are in the middle of a recession, money is tight, firms are closing all around, people are losing their jobs and homes, and yet some MPs are stamping their tiny little feet that they need to repay back their exorbitant claims.

Let's be clear, none of the MPs claims were just and reasonable, even under the old system. It just so happened that it was so riddled with corruption and inefficiency, that these claims ever made it through in the first place. Even judging many of their claims against the old system, they would have little if anything to do with their roles as a serving MP.

MPs are well paid, and are supposed to act in the interests of the public to whom they are rightly asked to serve. At least the party leaders seem to have correctly gauged the public outrage and disgust, and have demanded that their members return whatever cash is asked of them.

In my opinion, a failure to return what was not yours to take in the first place, should result in your swift exit from the party, and from politics. If they want to be voted in by their constituents, they had better get out their cheque books, and quickly.

Restoring faith in British democracy

With the revelations of MPs expenses, and the backlash meted out to the Labour government at the recent elections, the question now is - how can faith be restored in our democratic process?

Our MPs have shown themselves to be completely out of step with the common working man and woman of this country. They spent five years blocking reasonable and democratic attempts to get detailed information about their expenses (and now that they have been revealed, we know why). They have shown their contempt for the people who pay their wages. Look no further than Conservative MP Anthony Steen, who has stated that what he spends our money on is is none of our business, and that we are only jealous of him. Even more astonishingly, they tried to amend their own Freedom of Information law (the law that was being used to extract their expenses details) so that it did not apply to politicians. Their collective arrogance is truly staggering.

Labour's grubbing at the polls has hopefully sent the message that a government cannot afford to ignore it's constituents. In a democracy, the role of government is to serve its people. We vote them in, we can equally vote them back out. Governments are temporary, and we have the power to voice our displeasure by removing them from office.

For all MPs who have abused the expenses system, they should immediately face a by-election, where their constituency can vote them out if they wish to. The fact that so many MPs are hanging on until the next general election, so they receive their golden payoffs and fat pension pots must fill every person in this country with disgust. Giving us the power to vote out these pointless and greedy politicians would be a very welcome step in restoring our faith in democracy.

The expenses system should be completely over hauled. The fact that every single one of the claims that are now being revealed was authorised by the Fees Office shows how incompetent and self serving it is. The Fees Office should be under the control of an independent body, where the taxpayer is represented and can voice their concerns over its running. The second homes allowance should be abolished immediately. Many people commute to London daily, showing it is unnecessary to furnish our MPs with luxury homes in the capital. Most of the claims that have so horrified the general public have involved a second home, or a claim made against it.

The expenses system should only be used to claim the most basic of expenses, such as their staff salaries (who should not be related to the MP at all) and other expenses that are essential to the role of an MP.

Whatever happens, faith needs to be restored. It is currently at an all time low. We need MPs who understand the meaning of the words honour, diligence, industry and integrity. Currently, our House of Commons if full of shysters, liars and bullshitters.