Jon Snow
The juxtaposition of the huge surge in unemployment with the latest revelations of parliamentary sleaze concentrate the mind no end. According to one of my well-informed sources, David Cameron’s greatest fear about this continuing crisis is that a credible group of people will come forward and form some sort of party that will contest the…
Jon Snow
Amid the furore in which MPs from all parties appeared to abuse the Commons expenses rules without actually breaking them (see my posting yesterday), let us not forget the House of Lords. Who remembers that four of their lordships were subject to a newspaper sting reported in January this year, which alleged they were prepared…
Jon Snow
To hear Harriet Harman (leader of the House of Commons) on Friday night, MPs think they have now put their House in order. But surely “redacted” information about how they dispose of taxpayers’ cash into their expenses claims has to be transparent?
Jon Snow
In these days of the gathering credit crunch consequences and the recession or depression, is it my imagination or is morality coming back into play? Three instances in a week. The cascade of lords “on the take”, who told a Sunday newspaper they were prepared to influence legislation in return for money, may prompt a…
Jon Snow
The story of the four lords a-leaping (for allegedly offering to affect legislation in return for cash inducements) prompts all sorts of questions about the upper house of our legislature. The House of Lords prides itself on the quality of debates, and I’m the first to accept that there are some amazing brains in there,…