The expenses saga is the culmination of a gradual build up of very bad press for MPs. This has been coming for years. The culture surrounding the conduct of expenses at Westminster reveals an institution that is not only out of touch with the world outwith it's lauded 19th-century Gothic style walls but also portrays an arrogance that is inexcusable.
Taking liberties in office has been part and parcel of British politics for generations - be it in Government or not. It was the same for say, a high up official in the East India Company in the 1700s, who engaged in black market activity to supplement his salary, as it is for a 21st century MP who uses the system to play on the property market.
Toilet seats, tennis courts, dog food, the list is endless. It is true, as has been cited by the PM, that the system is at fault. However, in no way is this an excuse. To blame the system for the selfish actions of elected representatives is a total cop out and ignores the truth. Official systems allowed Jews to persecuted in Nazi Germany, the Apartheid regime to segregate on the grounds of skin colour, or women to not enter chambers of government until the 1920s in Britain. This did not make such action correct, the practices these systems made possible were not right. Granted, these are extreme examples but they are of the same ilk of what we are seeing in Britain this week: democracy being insulted and trodden on.
The MPs that exploit a ridiculous system for personal game run the risk of bringing into total disrepute an institution built by people such as Disraeli, Lloyd George and Attlee. Although permitted by a system their actions are dishonest. Sorry is not enough. Paying back is not enough. The system needs ripped apart and rebuilt. Trust and honesty must be restored.
Truth is democracy and dishonesty is hypocrisy.
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