Some Mps Have Been Caught, but It Could Be a Case of Better the Devil.. ; Opinion

Summary

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I'M going to ask a deeply unpopular question: Are we being too beastly to our Members of Parliament? Earlier on, I was eagerly devouring all the stories about their greed and complacency. There they were, blinking in the spotlight or furtively trying to hide. They didn't know what had hit them. Serve them right.

But I'm now wondering what happens if we assume all MPs are corrupt. A lot of them are standing down - who's going to replace them? Would you fancy doing the most hated job in the country? I'm afraid the candidates coming forward will be the most hard-boiled and hypocritical ones who're willing to brazen it out. People are saying: "They were all in it up to their necks. Ordinary people, like you and me, we'd never have acted like that." I wonder... The thing is, I used to write plays. To do that, you have to put yourself into somebody else's shoes. I considered the following scenario. It's Monday morning. I receive a letter from London. "Dear Madam, It has come to our attention that in past years you have, as a pensioner, been in receipt of (1) free television licence, and (2) annual heating allowance. You were not breaking the law in accepting them. But new retrospective legislation decrees that those grants should have been subject to a means test, rendering you ineligible. Elaine Morgan thepensioner All moneys disbursed in this way over the last 25 years must now be repaid in full." Ouch.

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Some Mps Have Been Caught, but It Could Be a Case of Better the Devil.. ; Opinion

Fair enough, I'd be guilty. I should have known those grants were m...

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