MPs' Expenses: Regaining Our Trust

Michael Martin’s resignation was, of course, a cause for a small celebration. Yes, he was to some extent the victim of circumstance. But some of those circumstances were of his own making. He was a greedy, corrupt figure. And he was the first Speaker to be forced out in centuries, which leads part of me to question whether he really was the worst Speaker we have had in that time.

Truth be told, I don’t know. Sure, his tenure has ended in ignominy, and that hasn’t happened for a long while. But I don’t know enough about the previous Speakers of the House of Commons to make the judgment call about how good Martin was, relatively speaking. That he was dreadful few will dispute. That he was the worst in over three hundred years may be more of an area for debate.

What Martin did do is represent the Commons very effectively in its current incarnation. He was bovine, corrupt, shallow and more than a bit incompetent. Much like so many of the members of the House at the moment. He sums up the zeitgeist, and I do wonder how much he is being punished for that. But if Martin is the worst Speaker we have had in centuries, does this mean the current incumbents of the Commons are the worst we have had for centuries?

It is easy to get lost in hyperbole as we see headlines about our money being spent on massive TVs, moats, toilet seats, damp proofing and manure. The truth is that there have always been corrupt MPs – just take a look back to Mandelson, Hamilton and Aitken if you want some proof. Yet this time it seems to be so much worse owing to the sheer volume of MPs caught with their hands in the till. The number of MPs implicated in this scandal would imply that we are looking at amongst the worst MPs that we have seen in a goodly long time.

They blame the system; which is fine until you realize they control the system. Yet the system is to blame on two key levels – firstly, it does encourage those with a predilection for corruption to run to the taxpayer with their wallet and purses wide open, begging for a bit of public cash. And the ability of MPs to enrich themselves at the expense of those they nominally should be serving does encourage the type of person who is more interested in maximizing personal wealth than public service to enter the Commons. There is no doubt that the system needs changing, both to close down the numerous loopholes and to put off the greedy from pushing so hard to become MPs.

But that is not enough. Every system has loopholes – the corrupt who enter the Commons will expend considerable energy on finding them. And it is not enough that the worst offenders of the expenses scam are being turfed out of the House of Commons. The repercussions for personal enrichment at the expense of the taxpayer must be stepped up. The worst offenders should be investigated by the police and answer, in court, any case that could be put to them. And if they are found guilty, them should be punished to the full extent of the law. Those entering the Commons should know that we expect nothing but the best from our elected leaders, and they should know just how awful it can get for them if they choose to exploit those who they were elected to serve.

We are talking about naming and shaming people here, and we are talking about making examples of those who are found guilty. Pretty awful stuff, but it is worth noting firstly that this is probably the only way we are going to control some of the worst elements of those who seek power in this country. It is also worth noting that MPs, through their greed and piggish behaviour, have forced this sort of conclusion on their constituents.

MPs need to be forced under the microscope a lot more, and their behaviour needs to be monitored and controlled. They need to regain the purpose of their jobs – they are public servants, and the relationship does not and should not work the other way round. Yes, it is a tough message that those in power probably don’t want to hear. But as the British public looks at those in the Commons and declaims them as the worst in living memory, they should remember that their current shaming and the calls for draconian new laws and regulations is down to them and to them alone. They created the system that brought disgrace on them, they exploited it and the refused to reform it. It is their fault that they have to suffer in order to regain public trust.