Lords sleaze row shows something rotten at the heart of Westminster

Published on Wednesday 4 February 2009 20:03

Since the four Labour lords accused of taking money to influence legislation last month were not exposed by parliamentary authorities (your reports, passim), it would appear that attitudes towards corruption at the heart of Westminster are so lax that we must rely on outside agencies such as a Sunday newspaper to expose it.

There is surely no-one in Britain today who refuses to believe many lawmakers in the Palace of Westminster are "on the make" or that Westminster is unwilling to clean up its own house. These Labour lords are, after all, merely the latest to be accused of financial wrongdoing. And, if found to have acted improperly, what penalty will they get?

Jack Straw, the leader of the House of Commons, is apparently to recommend that any peers found guilty of taking cash should be expelled from the House of Lords. This smacks of a "closing the stable door after the horse has bolted" approach. But surely the party itself is free to take action.

So perhaps Mr Straw can tell us, for example, whether or not Labour will expel these four peers from the party. And if not, why not? Is it because, as the Sunday newspaper has inferred, these four are merely the tip of an odious iceberg of corruption, one in which the parties at Westminster have been mired for some time?

It's not time to clean up politics in Britain and rid ourselves of the money-grabbers and bribes, it's way past time.

COLIN FOX

Alloway Loan

Edinburgh

Rarely have I read such utter nonsense as that from the SNP's Tricia Marwick regarding the loss of the voter register from the Glenrothes by-election (your report, 4 February).

That the register has been misplaced is regrettable and worthy of serious and urgent investigation, but for Ms Marwick to suggest this places the fairness of the by-election result in doubt is laughable.

The Labour majority in Glenrothes was not 7, 70 or even 700; it was almost 7,000, for goodness' sake. Even her own party leader admitted that the SNP got it seriously wrong in its campaigning for Glenrothes, so why does she now imply that dark forces may have been at work?

In any event, responsibility for the loss falls between the SNP-run Fife Council and the Scottish Court Service, a branch of the SNP administration, so she should perhaps look closer to home if she wishes to lay charges of incompetence.

BILL GOODALL

Baird Terrace

Edinburgh

There has been a debate concerning redundant tiers of government in Scotland(Letters, passim). Nationalists, of course, say Westminster is the one that should go. In fact, it is Holyrood that should go, as most of its work seems to be done by local government. Why not give it all to local councils; give them more money; beef them up?

WILLIAM BALLANTINE

Dean Road

Bo'ness, West Lothian

In contrast to the many shock, horror press reports and letters along the lines of "Scottish Budget fiasco makes Scottish Parliament a laughing stock throughout the world", Hamish Macdonell (Debate & Opinion, 3 February) sensibly and incisively implies the Scottish Budget "failure" has shown how our system and our well-developed sense of democracy have led to a sound outcome in terms of legislation.

STAN FISHER

Whinfield Rd

Prestwick, Ayrshire