Brown’s dirty deal on the expenses vote

The vote on Thursday night not to fix the broken system of MP’s expenses was a disgrace; it was the kind of behaviour that brings politics into disrepute. It was mostly Labour MPs who blocked this change with 33 ministers and Brown’s bag carriers voting for the wrecking amendment despite the Prime Minister himself suggesting that he backed reform. Today, Peter Oborne goes some way to explaining how this happened:

The key to understanding [Brown’s] position is the fact that Thursday’s vote on expenses followed an earlier one which involved the equally controversial issue of MPs’ pay. Facing a backbench revolt from Labour MPs who were furious at what they saw as an insulting increase in their £61,000 salary, the Prime Minister was forced to concede them a free vote on the expenses issue in return for accepting the deal on pay. Brown knew that defeat on this vital question would have been even more embarrassing and have had a catastrophic impact on the entire government economic policy of trying to keep a tight lid on public service pay awards.