Originally posted @ 8:11 pm, Fri 7th Jan 2011
David Chayter is going to gaol for improperly claiming expenses (GBP18,350 of public money) when he was an MP.
Some MPs, who were colleagues of his when he served, have expressed their surprise that he would be the first to have broken the rules, although one of them might regret saying he was the most honest politician he knew - oops.
It's also been pointed out that under Ken Clarke's new emphasis on prison reform, an extended community service might have saved the public money and seen more good done.
Even columnists are expressing some sympathy - http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jan/07/david-chaytor-mps-expenses-michael-white?intcmp=239
A year ago, no-one would have ventured such thoughts. Gaol would have been too good for him.
The controversy over MPs expenses obscured serious political discussion for many months about the challenges the country faced. Many Labour County Councillors across the country lost their seats in 2009 because there was no space to have a debate about how they served and how they made a difference.
I, like a number of Labour parliamentary candidates in 2009, made a personal pledge on standards and following a new code. A personal pledge sounded like quite a deal then, but now I wonder if Nick Clegg hasn't devalued that too much.
Meanwhile, there are still plenty of codes in existence regarding the conduct of Councillors and it's important that if local politicians want election contests fought on the issues, they follow codes such as Nolan's seven principles to the highest level.
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