On sleaze
Posted by Julian Ware-Lane on January 29, 2009
I am standing for Parliament not just to make up the numbers, but because for me it is the best job in the world. I believe in public service and aspire to make the world a better place.
It amazes me that someone can throw all this away (MP Conway ordered to repay money). Derek Conway’s errors of judgement will not just cost him in the pocket, he is an ex-MP come the General Election.
The Conway affair casts its shadow far and wide. To be fair, he is not alone in being unable to resist the trough. However, despite there being few who stray, all of us in politics are tarnished by this; even those like me have not earned a penny from our endeavours. Hours and hours of campaigning, meetings, writing, and I am regularly out of pocket. And still I will hear “all politicians are the same, in it for what they get out of it” – if that is remotely true I am missing out big time.
I sincerely believe that the vast majority of politicians, of all persuasions, are sincere in their aspirations. The number of rotten apples is small, and they are in danger of tainting the whole barrel.
David Jones said
It is indeed worrying that Labour, so full of promise when assuming office in 1997, has been found to be just as prone to sleaze as the previous government – witness many transgressions over the years, the most recent being the revelation that Labour peers are prepared to accept fees of up to £120,000 a year to amend laws in the House of Lords on behalf of business clients (Sunday Times, January 25th, 2009).
I have every confidence, however, that when Julian is elected to Parliament he will at once get to work to put the Labour house in order.
just me said
3 weeks is a long time in politics. Do you still stand by your article?
Julian Ware-Lane said
Yes. I see nothing that has happened since that would change my view.