Out of old sleaze, new socialism

Total deaths of British soldiers in Afghanistan = 276

Correctly, the Labour Party has suspended the membership of three former Cabinet Ministers. They are not part of the Labour Party that I have known and loved all my life.  This is politicians behaving atrociously.  At the heart of all parties are men and women of principle and idealism.  Good people of all parties must rebuild the integrity that's been undermined by those devoted to mercenary ends.  From the debris of the present shameful scandals a new idealism will be built. 

 

I was interviewed for the Dispatches programme on the revolving door because I have had a leading part in calling for strict regulation of lobbying.  Now there will be stringent controls.  In future, PMs will no longer be able to prostitute their contacts and experience for personal gain.

 

I made a call yesterday for all parties to follow the example of the Public Administration Committee. Our strong report was unanimous. The Conservatives should join Labour and the LibDems in calling for a mandatory statutory register with full transparency.

 

From Hansard 22/03/2010

 

Paul Flynn (Newport, West) (Lab): The Member in question is not the first man to indulge in boastful fantasies while talking to a beautiful young woman, but should not this shameful episode convince the House of the need to follow the fine example of the Public Administration Committee, which united to make an all-party, tough recommendation to make sure that MPs could never again be for hire?

New scandal

Gosh! There is no end to it. MPs are accused of breaking rules on overseas travel 400 times.

this times it is parliament's 'angels' and 'saints.'  One is the greatly respected Andrew Dismore.  He is member of the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee - the very body which polices MPs' behaviour.

He broke rules more than 90 times, following annual visits to Cyprus, by failing to declare the hospitality when raising issues about the island in Parliament. 90 times? Annual visits. He has definitely not been there for ninety years.

In total, he has tabled more than 200 Commons questions about Cyprus since the last election in 2005, on topics such as missing persons from the island and its victims of past conflict between Turkey and Greece.

Conservative David Amess has admitted failing to register a free trip to the Maldives - regarded as a "very serious" breach of the rules by the Committee on Standards and Privileges, according to the MPs' code of conduct. The Maldives? A long way from his constituency.

During a debate he tabled about the Maldives in 2007, Mr Amess told the Commons how his "splendid visit" had given him "an early taste of paradise".

"No words can describe adequately just how beautiful the islands are," he added, before suggesting the UK Government "could be encouraged to do a little more than is being done at the moment" for the islands in the Indian Ocean.

Despite leading two debates about UK support for the Maldives and asking 15 questions about the islands, he failed to declare an interest. Referring to the MPs' code of conduct, Mr Amess told the BBC: "It is for the member to judge whether a financial interest is sufficiently relevant."

Liberal Democrat Norman Baker, who has been actively calling for a clean-up of Parliament following the expenses scandal, has admitted breaching the rules on 37 occasions. In a statement to the BBC, Mr Baker accepts he failed to declare an interest when leading debates and tabling questions about topics such as human rights in Tibet. He has travelled to India twice, courtesy of the Tibet Society and the Tibet government-in-exile.

"I should have then declared a relevant interest in respect of the parliamentary activities you list," he said. "It is an unintended oversight that I did not."

This is unexpected as there angels are widely regarded as beyond reproach. These are vast oversights. I wonder how they found the time to visit theses lovely spots so often. Like all MPs I am racking my brains trying to remember whether I have ever been the guest of a foreign Government.

No. I don't think I have. I would remember India, the Maldives and Cyprus.

Beautiful woman

I tried to lighten the quivering sense of outrage at the statement about the foolish four who were entrapped by Dispatches. I do not believe  for a second that there was any truth in Byers' remarks. I asked Harriet,' While Stephen Byers is not the first man to indulge in boastful fantasies when talking to a beautiful young woman, should we now follow the example of PASC and unite to agree a tough anti lobbyists policies that will guarantee that never again will MPs will be offered for hire.'

The first part of the question got a laugh. One day Steve Byers will see the joke. But not for a while. Quite rightly the Labour Party suspended them tonight. Their present going rate for hire is about £3 a day rather than £3,000.

Comments

[Tony]

Just a thought ..
Hoon et al have been suspended from the Labour party ..
..but we're told there is no sign in inpropriety
So, which is it? Or have they been convinced by the court of public opinion?

[Kay Tie]

"It's Classic Socialism minus the greed, sleaze and failed concepts."

Doesn't sound like there's much left then!

Can you point me at a PDF of the book where I can read it online?

[Paul Flynn]

I'm afriad this is going to be (more)boring. New Socialism is described in the 100,000 words of my new book. It's Classic Socialism minus the greed, sleaze and failed concepts.

[Kay Tie]

"new Socialism will emerge"

What's New Socialism then?

[Paul Flynn]

Not can I see much wrong with David Amess or his speech. I do not believe that any of those in this list are crooks. They were foolish not to may decalarations.

[Paul Flynn]

Thanks for your contributions. The key phrase in this nightmare may be 'making peoples headaches last longer'

One bright spot is that this is NEW Labour sleaze. Pat Hewitt did say 'Gordon does not like that sort of thing'. She was talking of lobbying hospitality.

Out of the debris of NEW Labour, new Socialism will emerge. That's the hope in the final paragraph oh my new book.

[Martyn]

PS - love the daily mash link Kay Tie gives above - though astrangely there is a bit in there which seems not to be satire but true - they also claim

"former health secretary Hewitt told a paracetamol company she could make everyone's headaches last longer"

She has always had that effect on me at any rate.

[Martyn]

I've read David Amess's debate on the Maldives, and while it might not comply with the rules, I can't see it as much more than an oversight. He sets out the visit pretty clearly, lists the various Government people he spoke to, and sets out the problems the country faces - asking the Mininster to respond. He was hardly bribed by secret hosiptality. I imagine Norman Baker's and Andrew Dismore's debates would read similarly.

Obviously an MPs first duty is to their constituency, but we are surely not so insulated from international affairs that we do not also want MPs to look at problems overseas - human rights, climate change, refugee problems etc. Does this scandal mean they will fee they can't?

I think there have been some despicable abuses - look at Margaret Moran on Dispatches last night offering herself for a job while her office told constituents she was ill and couldn't help them. Had we had a recall law which let her constituents force her to fight an election she would have been kicked out of Parliament when the first expenses scandal broke. Because we don't they were left represented by a woman who felt free to go on abusing the system for over a year more - and will get a fat pay-off when she does step down.

Going on about a few MPs who openly said - if not on the right form - that they had made foreign visits seems a sideshow.

[HuwOS]

"We have the technology to hold round the globe meetings from our lap tops."

They could use chat roulette.
Merton might improvise a song about us.

But I'm really looking forward to international relationships being managed on Facebook.

Britain has joined the UN network.
Britain is in a relationship with USA
USA has changed relationship status to
it's complicated.

Pakistan has poked India

Taiwan status update, I want to join UN network
100 countries like this
China comments,
why isn't there an unlike button.

[Patrick]

No doubt there a loads more scandals that will never be brought to public attention.

Everybody knows how the public sector operates. politicians have for years been flying around polluting the planet , staying 5 star, to attend 'vital' meetings at public expense.

We have the technology to hold round the globe meetings from our lap tops.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1259944/Public-pension-cost-soars-1-200billion.html

[Kay Tie]

Oh but does the Daily Mash have it spot on with Hoonbyehewimorangate:

"The scandal could damage Labour's election campaign by undermining the party's hard-won reputation as wise and principled public servants who have always put the country before their own political or financial interests."

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/politics-headlines/mps-claim-expenses-for-getting-caught-at-being-whores-201003222579/

Are we getting to the level of resignedness that Italians have reached in letting Berlusconi hold on to office?