A kick in the Gorbals

If MPs do vote to committing themselves to declare it whenever they employ family members, surely this would be effectively a vote of no confidence in Michael Martin? After all, this will pre-empt his own longer term inquiry. It should be remembered that David Maclean’s Freedom from Information Bill, which with the Labour and Conservative… Continue reading A kick in the Gorbals

Is “42 days” a ruse for something else?

Say what you like about the Labour government, they are experts at the art of splitting the difference. Even when they lose, by and large they win. For example, the existing rules on allowing terrorist suspects to be locked up for 28 days without charge was a “compromise” eked out of the last time they… Continue reading Is “42 days” a ruse for something else?

A tale of two sleaze stories

Yesterday, the media got itself into a tizzy over a story about Alan Johnson that I’m pleased to see most Lib Dem bloggers seem entirely unimpressed by. Today, Derek Conway MP has been suspended from Parliament for two weeks for apparently defrauding the taxpayer out of £40,000 to pay his kid’s pocket money at university.… Continue reading A tale of two sleaze stories