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Drowning in an ocean of sleaze
- Posted by Owen Walker
- 01 February 2008
Owen Walker rounds up blog reaction to the week's revelations of dodgy dealings in Westminster
As the parliamentary sleaze-fest continued, with Labour passing the baton to the Tories over monetary irregularities, the blogosphere was quick to pounce. Bloggers from all quarters united in their condemnation of the Derek Conway & Sons revelations.
But Iain Dale outlined his reasons for not commenting on the Conway affair, and received a barrage of rebuttals from posters and bloggers alike. He writes: “I have no hesitation in telling you that Derek Conway is a friend of mine. Anything I have to say about his conduct, I will say to his face.”
Labour stalwart Phil Dilks sees hypocrisy in Dale’s stance: “Only a few days ago, Iain was quite happy to personally lead ‘the baying mob’ attacking Peter Hain for late reporting of private donations to fund an internal Labour Party election.”
Dizzy Thinks warns the financial misdemeanours of both parties could have murkier permutations: “Parties like the BNP will use these incidents and point out that they are not tainted by such things. You may think that people won’t vote in droves for the bigots and that is probably true, but the more they see the non-bigots acting so appallingly the more they will ponder of spoiling their ballots or protesting.”
While Chris Paul seeks to dispel any comparisons made over sleaze between Labour and the Tories, Recess Monkey has dug up a three-year-old Daily Telegraph article on Conway Junior mk 2 and his extravagant taste in clothing. He concludes: “I can’t help feeling pity for the boy unable to buy £2,000 suits. Perhaps he should have asked his boss for a pay rise?”
Paul Walters highlights the lack of sleaze on the PMQ agenda over recent weeks, with Labour and the Conservatives avoiding the issue for fear of what skeletons may lurk within their own party’s cupboards: “The parliamentary equivalent of dancing round the handbags or ‘don’t mention the war’. The three party ‘beasts’ have bitten so many chunks out of each other than there is now an uneasy truce.”
Finally, Nich Starling reflects on the Conservatives’ former criticism of student grants because they saw students being subsidised to earn a higher income at tax payers’ expense. He comments: “It is perhaps a real throwback that Derek Conway also appears to me to see his parliamentary allowance as a means of subsiding students, even if they are his sons.”
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