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‘MP in Public Service Shock. Politician found to be honest and hard-working. Wife standing by him.’ As the MPs expenses scandal dominated the front pages for month after month, one half expected to see a headline like this. The reputation of MPs dropped further and further with every revelation about claims for duck houses, moat cleaning and phantom mortgage payments. By the end of the affair, 84 per cent of voters thought that MPs put their personal and their party interest ahead of the national interest. Restoring the public’s faith in parliament will require reversing these numbers.
The expenses scandal has left most MPs feeling battered. They have been shocked by the level of public hostility to them and complain that they are being collectively punished for the failings of the worst offenders. Certainly, public cynicism has reached a dangerously high level, as the case of Paul Goodman illustrates. Goodman, the Tory MP for High Wycombe whose expenses were clean and who was destined for ministerial office in a Cameron government, has decided to quit parliament at the next election rather than serve in this atmosphere of suspicion.
Three incidents in the last year highlighted the good, the bad and the ugly side of the Commons and how difficult it will be to restore its lustre. It’s a challenge that will require MPs to set aside short-term political advantage for the long-term good of the House.
The Commons’s best side was on display over the Gurkhas. The government was forced into a U-turn and offer all Gurkha veterans the right of residence in this country by a principled Commons’ rebellion.
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