SOMETHING NOT QUITE RIGHT ?
You know how it is. Sometimes you see things or hear things and instinctively you know there`s something not quite right about them. A case in point is that of the MP for Maidstone and the Weald, Helen Grant. After first joining the Labour Party in 2004, she then demonstrated the uncertainty of her political convictions by joining the Conservative Party on a free transfer two years later, citing `disillusionment` as the reason for the change.
She applied to become a parliamentary candidate and in May 2006 was adopted as the Conservative candidate to fill the boots of the departing Ann Widdecombe in the Maidstone constituency - a safe seat if ever there was one - and Mrs. Grant was elected in the General Election of 2010 albeit with a much reduced majority.
In 2012 she was embroiled in an expenses controversy when it was revealed that she was claiming the maximum allowed under the rules - almost £1700 a month - for a flat in London despite having her family home in Reigate in Surrey. Now Reigate is within a zone around London in which MPs cannot claim expenses for a London rental but, as she represents Maidstone which is outside the exclusion zone, her expenses were allowed.
There was also a problem relating to her employment of her husband who subsequently resigned over an issue concerning an apparent disparity between the terms of his own contract and those of other employees of the MP. Just recently it was reported that Mrs. Grant`s son lives with his grandmother at her home near Maidstone and is thus able to attend the highly regarded Maidstone Grammar School in Kent - one of the last bastions of selective education on the country.
Now none of these issues in any way falls foul of any law and, as such, might well be perfectly legitimate. But, like Beatrix Potter`s lamb burgers, it doesn`t feel quite right and things that don`t feel right usually aren`t. It seems to me that these issues conspire to question whether the spirit of her position as a Member of Parliament should perhaps receive a little more attention than simply the letter of what might be permissible.
As the Labour MP John Mann, a long standing campaigner on MPs expenses, said, "MPs do need to abide by the spirit of the rules." Especially, I suggest, one who is a Justice Minister. Perhaps at the next General Election the good folk of Maidstone and the Weald might look for a more deserving alternative.
She applied to become a parliamentary candidate and in May 2006 was adopted as the Conservative candidate to fill the boots of the departing Ann Widdecombe in the Maidstone constituency - a safe seat if ever there was one - and Mrs. Grant was elected in the General Election of 2010 albeit with a much reduced majority.
In 2012 she was embroiled in an expenses controversy when it was revealed that she was claiming the maximum allowed under the rules - almost £1700 a month - for a flat in London despite having her family home in Reigate in Surrey. Now Reigate is within a zone around London in which MPs cannot claim expenses for a London rental but, as she represents Maidstone which is outside the exclusion zone, her expenses were allowed.
There was also a problem relating to her employment of her husband who subsequently resigned over an issue concerning an apparent disparity between the terms of his own contract and those of other employees of the MP. Just recently it was reported that Mrs. Grant`s son lives with his grandmother at her home near Maidstone and is thus able to attend the highly regarded Maidstone Grammar School in Kent - one of the last bastions of selective education on the country.
Now none of these issues in any way falls foul of any law and, as such, might well be perfectly legitimate. But, like Beatrix Potter`s lamb burgers, it doesn`t feel quite right and things that don`t feel right usually aren`t. It seems to me that these issues conspire to question whether the spirit of her position as a Member of Parliament should perhaps receive a little more attention than simply the letter of what might be permissible.
As the Labour MP John Mann, a long standing campaigner on MPs expenses, said, "MPs do need to abide by the spirit of the rules." Especially, I suggest, one who is a Justice Minister. Perhaps at the next General Election the good folk of Maidstone and the Weald might look for a more deserving alternative.
1 comment:
Indeed, Ray.
I suppose in my naivete I imagine MPs might represent their constituents rather than themselves.
I really should know better at my age.
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