Damning charge list of Westminster scandals | Letters
Glad to see Timothy Garton Ash touching on the question of corruption in parliament (It’s not just parliament’s buildings that require extensive renovation, 28 March). The full charge sheet is as follows: cash for questions, cash for access (twice), cash for honours, cash for influence (twice), Jowellgate, Peter Watt, Michael Brown, Bernie Ecclestone, Werrittygate, Hunt, Rifkind and Straw. One scandal every 18 months or so. Then we have the institutionalised cultural corruption of corporate lobbying, directorships, revolving doors and political donations. And last but not least, the alleged 14 cases where the Metropolitan police terminated investigations that were implicating MPs and establishment figures and the 46 instances where similar cover-ups took place. All these are in addition to the absurd spectacle of PMQs and the House of Lords, and spadocracy and MPs’ expenses, which were mentioned by Timothy Garton Ash.
In the face of this elephantine boil on the fat buttock of Westminster, we are being treated to prolonged national debate over the layout of Miliband’s second kitchen. No wonder so many people are turning away from electoral politics.
Dr Richard Lawson
Green PPC for Weston-super-Mare