Out Of The Frying Pan Into The Fire ?

[paraffin]

New Speaker John Bercow is also tainted by the expenses scandal, having "flipped" his second home and having also evaded Capital Gains Tax, which he will now "voluntarily" repay.

Is his integrity therefore any more credible than that of Michael Martin, so recently hounded out of the same job?

[New Judge]

MPs have denigrated what was probably the last remaining aspect of the House of Commons that attracted any respect or dignity.

The previous Speaker was a disgrace long before the expenses scandal. He was partisan and inept and brought the office into disrepute firstly with the Damian Green affair, and then with the expenses outrage.

The new incumbent is already tainted with expenses misbehaviour (though the MPs would be hard pushed to find one among their number who is not) but, more importantly, has been elected purely along party lines. Strangely it is the Labour MPs who most wished this Tory MP to be elevated to the chair. The Tories are none too fond of him.

Already there is talk of plots and counter plots to remove him either before or after the next General Election. Meantime, the hard hapless electorate has to press on and be content whilst a bunch of crooks, spivs, shysters and charlatans �represents� them in Parliament.

[rov1200]

As only 3 Tory MPs voted for him he was elected by the majority of the Labour party MPs. He may straighten up the expenses system but in return wants MPs to earn �100 grand a year from their current �63,000 as at present. No wonder Labour welcomed him!

[Everhelpful]

MP's will find a way of milking the Public no matter what Laws,Criteria etc are put in place.

[birdie1971]

Disgraceful.

I'm convinced that, as far as the average MP is concerned, the expenses scandal has been forgotten because they've elected a new Speaker. A Speaker who has also given money back � presumably because he also made some financial 'mistakes'.

The kind of 'mistakes' that if the likes of you or I made, would lead to our sacking and possible criminal charges.


And all this 'dragging the new Speaker to the chair' nonsense!.. It beggars belief that in 2009 we have to witness this pantomime, with some plonker 'forcing' Bercow into accepting his new �142,000 pa salary, chauffeur driven car and his new grace-and-favour house.

My heart bleeds.

[tamborine]

Its thieving....they should be convicted as we would be for same offence.

[paraffin]

Despite public perception, there are quite a few MPs who do not appear to have taken advantage of the lax expenses system which has brought so many of their colleagues into disrepute.

The Telegraph revelations clearly show that quite a few of them were very modest in what they claimed.

The new Speaker, however, was not in that category and I find it highly ironic that he now has the onerous task of "cleaning up" politics. We have no choice but to give him a chance because we had no say in his coronation.

And should he indeed succeed in having the average MP's wage raised to �100k, this will, in my opinion, equate to what many have been already "earning" courtesy of the expenses abuses. So what in effect will have changed?

Methinks the new Speaker bears close scrutiny!