After the bankruptcy of the financial system comes
the bankruptcy of the political system. The
expenses scandal has exposed our elected servants as
a vacuous, pathetic money grabbing bunch.
The revelations of some of the claims for mortgages
that were already paid or did not exist are staggering.
There is only one place for the most serious offenders
in this appalling scandal – jail. Fraud – which is what it
is in the worse cases – cannot, and should not, be tolerated.
Attempting to find some light in the whole situation is that the scandal is
not on the scale of a Chicago-style racket where politicians acted for money.
It is a very British scandal. Politicians acted for themselves, like simple little
bureaucrats, in most cases pettily, but that does not matter, it still amounts
to a betrayal of the British people.
If the Prime Minister had any moral fibre left he would call a general
election, but he doesn’t. We are entering the last days of Labour, which will
stretch into agonising weeks and months and will not be a pleasant sight.
Nothing will be achieved except senior ministers attempting to hold on to
their power while others manoeuvre to place themselves for the future. The
best days for the sector from this government are over. Charities should be
honest about this. One major positive in legacy terms, is the establishment
of the Office of the Third Sector by the Labour administration. But now the
sector should focus on change.
David Cameron has come out of the whole sorry business only slightly
better than Gordon Brown. He has been more decisive and seems more
aware of the severity of the situation, while acknowledging some of the more
embarrassing expenses cases are in his party.
More importantly, the challenge now is for Cameron’s commitment to
localism to ensure a route out of this deep malaise. The sector – charities,
voluntary groups, social enterprises – can lead the charge here: acting as a
more localised point of focus for disquiet within civil society and show the
country that those who act in the public interest and for the public benefit are
not just money grabbing imbeciles.
It is time for the sector to make its voice heard. It can lead, where
politicians have not.
Andrew Holt, Editor
