Stephen Byers either pimped himself out to big business and betrayed the electorate, or he didn’t, in which case he made fraudulent claims, says Rod Liddle. Either way, the public won’t tolerate this level of corruption
I once fell into conversation with a whore, up on Streatham Hill in south London. A long time ago now; back then, in the early 1980s, it was a renowned red-light district. You’d look out of your window at night and see a street full of parked cars bouncing up and down, as if they were in a weird theme park. Whoreworld©. Most of us who lived there were propositioned from time to time, which always made me feel useful and wanted. Anyway, one time I engaged some rather worn-out old hag in a pious and cringing (on my part) conversation about her trade. ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘I see myself as no different from a taxi cab for hire. Five quid for a ride either way. What’s the difference?’
I was reminded of this lady when I read about Stephen Byers, a former government minister and the MP for North Tyneside, offering his services as a lobbyist for between £3,000 and £5,000 per day to people for whom, he claimed, he could influence government policy decisions. The similarities are pretty obvious. First, he likened himself to a taxi, too, except a more expensive taxi. Second, I suspect that like Stephen, the woman I met was inclined to keep her hosiery on whilst partaking of sexual congress. You may have forgotten that story about Byers: I haven’t. It has stuck with me, him wearing his socks in bed while servicing a Labour councillor (who later blew the whistle) at some godforsaken conference. It has stuck to the inside of my brain like toxic plaque.
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in