Posts Tagged ‘MPs expenses’

3 Labour MPs Elliott Morley, David Chaytor, Jim Devine and a Tory peer Lord Hanningfield will face criminal charges over alleged misuse of their expenses. They will be charged under section 17 of the Theft Act relating to false accounting; if found guilty the four could land in jail for seven years.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer while announcing the charges said ‘that one other case was still being investigated, as there was insufficient evidence to charge the Labour peer Lord Clarke of Hampstead.

According to Sir Thomas Legg, who carried out the audit of the expenses, stated the system as “deeply flawed”. Hundreds of MPs were ordered to pay back a total of £1.12 million.

So what’s next?
Do we start thinking about reforming the British Politics and Democracy? High-time to give it a thought, the public fuming about the expenses scandal is justified, so faith needs to be restored.

Have the public lost faith in MPs? The expenses file shows MPs more than half the entire House of Commons are involved in the controversial expenses scandal. They exploited the system of parliamentary allowances to promote their lifestyles and homes. The revelation has angered many voters and the reputation of the MPs has taken a beating.

People at large knew nothing until the scandal was out in the open and how MPs claimed for items far beyond what was allowed. Change in the system was voiced, but unfortunately there weren’t many takers. The after effect of not heeding that advise is all out in black & white.

It’s not easy to get this scandal off the mind of the taxpayers. While some MPs are guilty for the wrongdoing it has tarnished everyone in the house of Commons with the same brush.

So what does this mean? Is there a need for an urgent damage control to restore public faith?

A need for a strategic reputation management to get back the lost glory. There is no quick-fix method to fix the problem, but MPs need to realize that they are  the representatives of their constituency and are not traders.

Politics and politicians are definitely not immune to bad press or negative comments, the above scandal shows how a politicians online reputation can go for a ride even if you are not at fault. You need to apprise the public your accomplishments, and what you are planning to do. This will allow people to respond positively and garner faith in the system.

David Cameron, when said ‘all MPs who do not repay will be sacked and be termed not eligible for election. This is a welcome statement and will infuse confidence in public, and also minimize the resentment in public for those in the House of Commons.

Politician’s reputation holds greater significance as electorate comprising of different age and group will have a common thinking about their representative, which makes sense to them. Let your positive image be known to the public, after all that is all you need to face the polls.