Can you defend moats?

Things appear to be getting worse and worse on the fees debacle, but then it was always going to.

I just heard Douglas Hogg telling a reporter that he did not claim for a moat, he merely submitted a schedule for all the costs of maintaining his property and then agreed with the fees office how much he could claim. The schedule was not a claim just a list of the maintenance costs. The trouble is, even if this were true, it it not going to wash with people.

I also gather that the Lib Dems are about to get manure dropped on them as well. One rumour is that Lib Dem MPs have been funding their local parties activities from their expenses. I must admit that when I was a local Councilor Leader I was asked by my local party whether I would have my Councillors do this from their allowances. I always believed it looked very bad and was in effect the public paying for politics. I applied the "would I want this appearing in the local paper rules". I understand that Lib Dem Councillors do this routinely. If this is true then this is very serious, although I accept it is not Chandeliers and moats. If we want state funded political parties then we should have them, but it is not acceptable for them to be funded through the back door.

What is clear is that there is no illegality in any of this because ultimately they were granted these expenses - but again no one will want to hear any of that.

So, what now? I really do not know what the answer is to all this. Even if there were a new system the stink will hang around politics for many, many years to come. Were I to be elected then any pride in that would be quickly dispelled by 'embarassment' that I am about to enter an institution where the majority of current MPs , of all parties, are tainted by this disgrace.

I have seriously thought whether I want to continue. But then two things come to my mind. The first is that getting rid of this wretched Government and Brown is the number one priority - the people I speak to on door steps in Yeovil are demanding it. By the time of the next election this will be over and normal politics will be restored - although hopefully the MPs will have made the changes the nation needs. The second thing is the necessity for new people to be elected who will force that change to happen. It is time for MPs of all parties to move aside and acknowledge that for 'change' to happen' needs new people. I make no apologies for the Obama reference because in some respects the US Government has had a similar problem over not just expenses but the selling of Senate seats (specifically Obama's own seat) and the power of lobbyists. Obama talked of bringing change to Washington and now we need to bring change to Westminster.

My view is that this latest set of revelations only emphasise more that we need an election as soon as we can. The MPs have created this mess by their previous inaction and now it is time for Parliament to present itself for re-election.

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