Expenses: The first heads roll
By politics.co.uk staff
The furore over MPs expenses stepped up a gear today, with a Tory resignation and the suspension of a former Labour minister.
Elliot Morley, former environment minister, was suspended from the party this afternoon after claiming £16,000 in mortgage interest despite paying off the loan 18 months earlier.
Former Labour minister suspended over expenses
Over at Conservative HQ, Andrew Mackay, David Cameron’s Commons aide, resigned this morning after “examination of his past allowances revealed an unacceptable situation that would not stand up to public scrutiny,” a party spokesman said.
Expenses scandal claims its first victim
Meanwhile, Commons Speaker Michael Martin is under unprecedented pressure today, with a motion of no confidence expected next week to receive cross-party support and rumours of a concerted effort to force him to step down.
Mr Martin’s position became increasingly untenable after an outburst against two MPs with an excellent track record on making expenses more transparent on Monday.
Many MPs think his is the most logical head to roll, given that he presided over the system when abuses were made.
The news marks a dark day for parliament.
Earlier today, two Labour peers were found guilty by the parliamentary sleaze committee over the cash-for-amendments controversy.
Two Lords face suspension over cash-for-amendments
This afternoon, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg sent a remarkable letter to Mr Cameron and Mr Brown calling on them both to accept the findings of Sir Christopher Kelly’s review into the issue before even seeing what he would suggest.
Clegg: These are not normal times
“We politicians have slugged this issue out over the course of several weeks and got nowhere. To my utmost regret, we have failed to achieve consensus on a solution that could be implemented immediately and people have lost so much trust in politicians that they would be unlikely to support anything we could agree on anyway,” he wrote.
“That means Sir Christopher’s independent inquiry is now the only remaining option to clean up the system from top to toe. It must be accepted in full by MPs, without quibbling over details. I want all three of us to declare publicly and immediately that we will accept the report’s recommendations in full,” he continued.
“In normal times I would be very reluctant to suggest we adopt proposals we haven’t yet seen. But these are not normal times. Only by binding our hands in this way – removing the ability for parliament to amend the Kelly recommendations line by line – will we have a chance of convincing the public that we are serious about serving them, rather than our own interests.”
The two party leaders are yet to remark on the letter.
