This is too important to ignore. As the shameful disclosures by my new favourite newspaper: The Daily Telegraph keep coming out, with revelation after revelation of how the dishonourable Members of Parliament mis-use taxpayers money to line up their pockets, I really do not think things are going to be the same for politicians in the U.K. anymore. Most people didn't know what really went on with the expenses; there were some constituencies where the people didn't even know who their MP was, let alone the rip-offs they were up to. Now, we have to thank the courageous decision of the Daily Telegraph which dared to publish the names and misdeeds of those who abused the system quite spectacularly. Now, the guilty ones say it's the system that was wrong. It's not the system that is wrong, it's the MPs who are wrong and they know it. Imagine the idiot David Chaytor who said that he had "made an unforgivable error " when he claimed nearly £13,000 in interest payments for an interest mortgage that he had already paid off. I mean... how can he explain away that ? this is fraud, he faces a criminal inquiry into his expenses.
The police, have been reluctant to get involved after several previous failed political investigations, but they have been left with little choice following serious allegations of fraud, and growing public anger. The Metropolitan police have received a number of complaints from members of the public about MP's including the Cabinet members: Alistair Darling, Geoff Hoon, Baroness Uddin and the former Minister Elliot Morley, who recently resigned after his misuse of public money was published by the Daily Telegraph. Lawyers have said that Mr. Morley's expenses claims could constitute a criminal offense under the 2006 Fraud Act and the 1968 Theft Act. Morley, who was a minister for nine years under Tony Blair, blamed his " error " on "sloppy accounting" he was claiming £800 a month for 18 months after his mortgage had already been paid off and when he was caught, he said it was " sloppy accounting " How can anyone forget that they have already paid their mortgage off ? Does he really expect us to believe it ? The only good thing that has come out of this is, that all the three major political parties have got together and agreed to form the Coallition of the Fraudsters because somehow it's not their fault! Oh no. " It's the system's fault " and they now say they need an independent body to tell them what is proper to do and what isn't. If they cannot tell the difference between what is proper and what isn't, then they have no business in Parliament. The whole lot should go. Having an £8,000 Danish television on expenses is a luxury not a necessity, a crystal chandellier is a luxury, having your moat or your swimming pool cleaned up ,are luxuries ! Anyone with half a brain can see that. Heads are beginning to roll and a few resignations have taken place but that its not enough. Criminal charges have to be brought up and made to stick, if they want people to believe in politicians again.
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Hola Maria
I still doubt if there will be any charges. But if public anger continues then we might see one or two, as a gesture of appeasement. There's a general election next year. The thing is, it will be crucial that the precise circumstances, i.e. breaking the law of the land as opposed to merely breaking the House of Commons rules - are limited to one or two. If it turned out that 20 or 30 MPs had broken the law, then it would not be possible to prosecute all of them. It just isn't going to happen. And the police couldn't prosecute just two or three and let the others go. So no one would be prosecuted.
Hola Robert
You are under-estimating the public anger there is. We are in a recession, our politicians are telling us to tighten our belts whilst they are living it up at OUR expense, if the recession continues, with more people out of work, resentment is going to reach boiling point and they will know that is time to throw away the drones from the bee-hive. The politicians keep on making laws that make normal life more difficult whilst the same rules do not seem to apply to them. I won't be voting for any of the 3 major parties, I am now looking for a fringe party to give my vote to. If George Galoway is running I will vote for him.
Im with Robert here ,I think...nothing of any substance will occur,plenty of hand wringing and crocodile tears..maybe a couple of MPs thrown to the lions to please the crowd,but the circus will continue.As for voting..well its not a case of voting for an honest politician-there is no such thing,all you can try to do is vote for the LEAST dishonest MP .
There are far more pressing and urgent problems facing this country in the near future,and I believe they will dwarf this present serious but ultimately minor issue.The country is broke,even the IMF have given us up as a hopeless cause.The billions that are being borrowed are just to get us through the next few months-in the hope something will turn up-it wont.The writing was on the wall for everyone to see as soon as the exchequer -bank of england started printing false money....Yes we have probabley twice as many pound notes now-but they are worth half as much...I dont think the population at large has understood that .......yet-but they will. The Weimar republic returns! and what is going to happen when the govt runs out of money to pay the unemployed? the answer is of course they will be in YOUR house taking what YOUVE got.in the words of whoever said them-you aint seen nothing yet!
It would be interesting to hear if they do things differently where Victoria lives.
Robert & Dougie, Victoria won't be here until Monday. To start with, Australia's channel SBS showed images of Abu Ghraib which are presently banned in the U.S. when President Obama decided to make a U turn on his policy of " transparency " also, any book which has been banned in the U.K. for " security reasons " has been freely published there and all we have to do, is to buy it from an Australian publisher. Going back to our problem with the MP's expenses if you read today's Observer Newspaper, there it says that the major donors for the three main parties are going to withdraw their financial support. The Queen is furious and has summoned Gordon Brown to sort it out by taking the whip from the guilty ones. I will leave you with Oliver Cromwell's speech when he had to dissolve Parliament and had to throw out most of the members of the House of Commons in 1653. Here it is:
It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; you are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would, like Eusau, sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.
Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? You have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter'd your conscience for bribes?
Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth ?
You sordid prostitutes have you not defiled this sacred place, and turned the Lord's temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? You are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redressed, are yourselves gone !
So ! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. In the name of God, go !
Hi Maria
I am one of those people who think that a new bunch of MPs, with new procedures for expenses, is not going to make much difference. The only way to make these people truly represent the electorate is to refuse to vote at all.
Unfortunately we have an electorate who stamp their feet and shout when they see MPs stealing money from them, but have sat in their armchairs for 50 years while their COUNTRY is stolen from them. So I have little hope.
I hope you are wrong Robert, and you too Dougie. I think there will be changes in this country. Even her Majesty the Queen now pays taxes these days, so how can you imagine a lowly civil servant like our MPs get away without paying taxes ? Many of them have promptly refunded the money they were supposed to have paid, because they know that not doing so, will mean a criminal prosecution against them. Another thing, anyone can get involved actively in the political process even by writing to the newspapers, this notion of the British public sitting in their arm-chairs is rubbish ! we have had a Parliamentary system for a Thousand years, it is a fine system which has worked well and providing the rotten apples are thrown out of the cart, it will be even finer tuned.
Already, things are happening and the prosecutions are being prepared right now by the Public Prosecution. As you know, The MPs of Liberal Party did not embezzeled the system. The ones mentioned, did claim on necessary things to refurbish their second homes in London. They need two homes. Working in London and serving their constitutients in other parts of the country, means that two homes are necessary and I do not see anything wrong with that. The scandal is here to stay until all this mess, is sorted out quickly which it will, before it festers.
Many of our MPs have forgotten that they are servants of the estate, not presidents and congressmen so the sooner the message gets back into their minds, the sooner things will be corrected. And Dougie, I doubt very much that people are going to resort to burglaries, my experience with the British public is that quietly they will get things done, by writing letters to the Queen to complain or be interviewed on the T.V. or attend public televised debates or listen to them. The David Dimbleby programme Question Time, was THE most watched T.V. programme in the land, this was the one where Margaret Becket was heckled by a member of the public. Apart from that, it was a very orderly programme where the people expressed our points of view very, very well. Things will have to change in this country, otherwise, we are heading for a new Bastille Day.
Maria, imagine that you could get into a time machine and go back to VE Day 1945. A soldier is waving his flag and celebrating.
“Isn’t it wonderful!” he says. “We’ve won. I just hope they build a better country now – not like what they did after the Great War. I wonder what Britain will be like in 60 years’ time.”
“Well,” you say, “there will be many complaints about Parliament.”
The soldier chuckles. “I can believe that.”
“And,” you continue, “there will be three main parties : Labour, Conservative and Liberal.”
“Just like it is now, then, “ says the soldier.
“Also, “ you add, “there will be a few parties called lunatic parties – fascists, communists, and a party called the UK Independence Party.”
“What’s that you said?” asks the soldier, nearly choking on his sausage roll.
“The UK Independence Party – a party dedicated to recovering Britain’s right to govern herself.”
“But – but –“ gasps the soldier, “we’ve just been fighting for our independence. We’ve just won it.”
“Ah my friend,” you answer him, “I’m afraid that though you killed many Germans you did not kill any politicians. It’s the politicians who have done it.”
“Which party is responsible?” he asks.
You tell him all three.
“But didn’t the monarch stop it?” asks the soldier. “We’re always told the monarch is the last line of defence against any laws that would take away our liberty or independence.”
You tell him that the Queen has signed every law put in front of her. She’s happy as long as her head still appears on postage stamps and coins.
“But didn’t the people rise up and stop it?” asks the soldier.
You tell him no.
As you walk away you look back and see him putting a gun to his head.
Nope, Maria, I don’t have much hope.
Robert, we are a small island not an empire anymore, for too long we have been an outpost of American interests, we do what the Yanks tell us to do, the marionets are in the Labour and Conservative parties. I would sooner be part of Europe than an undeclared state of the union. If we hadn't had the idiot Tony Blair in power, if we only had had someone with enough courage to say NO to the Americans and not embark in this illegal war; just like the French, the Germans and the Russians did when they said NO to Bush and his cronies, we would not be this poor now. Most people forget that wars are incredibly expensive, and ultimately it makes the countries involved like ourselves very poor. Afghanistan has famously been the graveyard of empires, including the British Empire and they will be the graveyard of the American Empire too. So I am hopeful that once the Yanks run out of bullets and money, we will finally have peace in the world. It is good news to know that the Yanks will be spending another 75 million dollars towards their own graveyard, I can't wait for them to sink even more. As it is, they are now irrelevant world-wide.
Hi Maria
I want this country to be independent of everyone.
The thing that amuses me is when the politicians talk of the exoenses scandal as a threat to our democracy. Since when has it been "our" democracy? Come to think of it, since when has it been a democracy?
What they mean is that it's a threat to their gravy train.
We are coming up to the Euro elections now and I am having garbage pushed through my letterbox by politicians. Do you know how I can stop this? If I put a "no junk mail" sign on the door it won't stop them, because they don't regard their stuff as junk.
My polling card went in the bin the day it was delivered.
Oh no! I've just read that Esther Rantzen might stand for Parliament. As Oliver Hardy would say, what could be worse?
Hi Robert,
I know you don't vote on anything. I do not like to be disenfranchised myself from the political process by leaving it to others to decide what happens to this country. I would like to think I do have a voice by chosing the party who is best to lead. Esther Rantzen is a very decent human being, towards others since she has helped a lot of people and I do not think she will try to cash in or jump into a gravy train and after all, things are going to change. The Speaker of the House of Commons is going to be pushed out because he condoned the milking of the system. So he has to go. His job was to oversee the MPs expenses and he failed to do that.
Hello Maria, Robert and dougie,
I now get Robert's earlier joke re having his moat cleaned out .. your MP's escapades were on our television sets over the weekend, pictures of their houses etc. I didn't see the beginning so I must have missed the moat cleaning footage.
It is a disgrace really, how far down have all the worlds politicians gone .. forgetting that it is their privilage to serve their countrymen. Instead they serve themselves first.
I don't believe that we have anything like what your system has for expenses, except for the Prime Minister and Governor General who live in State houses. Any other politician has their pay and only expenses related for work travel.
Mind you we have a lot of complaints about them travelling to excess and racking up unnecessary bills at the taxpayers expense, on their overseas junkets.
As dougie said they are all dishonest, you can only try and vote for the least dishonest amongst them.
Cromwells speech from 1653 is excellent Maria .. it also shows that 'there is nothing new under the sun', and how all things seem to just go round and round.
Nice little poem Robert, of the soldier on VE Day, but we must keep hope alive .. or there will be no hope.
Hi Victoria,
I am glad to hear that your MP's expenses are just for travelling, I think they are thinking of reducing the expenses here to the mere bones as well. As the irate calls on radio by the public keep coming and there is a diluge of mail getting into the T.V. channels with consistent expressions of : Go ! The whole lot of you should go ! I think there are very few MPs who didn't abuse their privileges and one of my favourite politicians: George Galloway, did not claim anything, not even a bus pass ! Dougie was right about something though. There have been reports of petrol theft, this is when someone fills up their tank and instead of going to pay, the person accelerates the car and leaves the petrol station without paying. Another theft that is taking place, is oil tank theft from homes, that is thieves are going out and siphoning the oil from their neighbours tanks. Oil has gotten so expensive, many people cannot afford it and are stealing it, whilst the oil companies are raking record profits. I have to say that I would look with sympathy if someone stole a bank, given that billions of tax payers money were given to the banks, and they are keeping the money and not lending it to anyone. Someone who stole it from them would technically be getting their money back !
Hi Maria and Victoria
If you feel it's worth voting (and I think Dougie agrees with you) then of course that's your decision. Personally, far from giving them my vote, I wouldn't even give them a bucket of water if they were on fire - at least they'd be shedding some light at last.
Heh,heh,heh that was very funny Robert. Did you know that in the Middle Ages six MP's were not only sacked but had their heads chopped off too ? Ahhh... the good old days ! This afternoon, the Speaker of the House is going to give his farewell speech as he is leaving, due to mounting pressure from all parties to resign, since he squandered more of the tax payers money to pay attoneys, in a failed attempt to cover-up the scandal.
This will be the first time in 300 years that a Speaker Of The House of Commons, has been invited to resign. He will be the 3rd person to resign over the scandal. We should hope there will also be some criminal charges too.
Hi Maria
I pinched that line about shedding light from Edward Gibbon, who was talking about Christians under the Roman Empire.
I think there may now be a byelection in the Speaker's seat, although there doesn't have to be. He could step down as Speaker, but not as an MP. We will have to see.
There will indeed be a byelection.
The problem with not voting Robert is that while the ordinary person will with hold his vote in protest...the extremist will always vote.And taken to extremes we could end up with a Muslim government or a communist or faschist govt getting in because the 3 people that voted-voted for them.I can well understand the "none of em are worth voting for" attitude,but it could put us in an even worse state.
Maria,while theres much to dislike in the american way,dont forget without the yanks Hitler would have trampled upon britain...they (the yanks( saved us..and of course it was the american presence in europe which prevented us being overcome by russia.We have a lot to thank them for.As for being a part of this european community,its a community which if anything is even more corrupt than our own.
I think Australia has had its fair share of corruption issues...its human nature after all..viva la revolution! liberty fraternity and equality! a noble sentiment of course..but as attainable as extracting oil from a goldfish im afraid.
Dougie, too much propaganda has been said about the Yanks and WII when in fact many many more Russians died to help us out. The Yanks came too late and only when they themselves were attacked at Pearl Harbour, before that, the U.S. was acting as a neutral country selling weapons to both Germany as well as to us. Dougie, we paid the U.S. for all the weapons, they did not give them to us for free and we finished paying them exactly two years ago. So no. There isn't anything that we could feel grateful towards the Yanks.
Hi Dougie,
The grandfather of the ex president Bush had business deals with Adolf Hitler. And the U.S. became a world power after selling weapons to the Nazis as well as to us. Companies like Westinghouse were very busy selling manufacturing weapons, this is how they made their fortunes. Nowadays, the U.S. sponsors terrorism around the world, for example the U.S. subsidised the I.R.A. as well as the Jandulla terrorist group to commit terrorists attacks inside Iran. Currently the U.S. is waging a covert nuclear war on Pakistan with un-manned airplanes (drones) their current president is no different from the last. The U.S. practices torture on detainees without a trial. In other words, the U.S. is a rogue country which sponsors Israeli terrorists attacks against the Palestinias too. It destroyed Iraq. shall I continue ? Not to mention the atrocities perpetrated in Latin America.
Hi Dougie
We've been through this before. Until they show me that they care what people want and are prepared to give it to them, they will not be getting my vote. Let others do what they want to do, and I must do what I have to do.
They can make a start by giving us a referendum on the EU constitution. Correction : two referendums on the EU constitution, because as we have seen with Ireland, when the EU receives the "wrong" answer it simply asks people a second time.
Good morning all,
I don't care that you 'pinched' your line from Edward Gibbon Robert, it was good, funny, and appropriate. As long as you don't start 'pinching' petrol as Maria was talking about! There is a fair bit of that here, if you believe what you see on the television .. maybe they just beef it up a bit.
"Let others do what they want to do, and I must do what I have to do" A very noble sentiment Robert, and very true.
But I have to agree with dougie in that, you need to use your vote wisely as 'the extremist will always vote'.. and to make a difference, you need to vote. I never vote for a minor party who are not really in the race, so to speak, as I feel that my vote would be just wasted.
Picking the best of the bad bunch seems the only way .. but then we are really just sheep, and change will never happen.
Thanks Victoria.
I agree that it's scandallous that people are stealing petrol to put in their cars, when they should be sprinkling it over the politicians.
As for voting, I would even prefer to go to the dentist and have something bad taken out, as opposed to voting and putting something bad in.
Robert, Victoria and Dougie,
Yes, Robert you have a very valid point with the European vote. Unfortunatelly, the people from the U.K. were not allowed to vote on the Lisbon treaty. Our government did the voting for us ! I was in Ireland when the Irish were dead against it and they won the vote, except that President Sarkozy and some other stoodges who cannot understand when NO means NO decided to make another election to ask the Irish the same question !!! I mean... what makes them think they will get another answer ? The people voted NO and their wishes should be respected making another election until they get a YES vote is not the way elections work. This has shown the hypocracy of the European elections for all to see. Of course we were denied that vote because Gordon Brown did the voting for us without us even realizing it !!! which is a real scandal. Given what we know now about the House of Ill Repute they run.
Dougie, it is not an eskewed view of history. Living in Latin America, and having been a close neighbour of the U.S. and not a far away and dreamy relationship like you have, has given me the opportunity to suffer the Evil Empire more closely than you. My father being a pschiatrist had to treat people who had suffered torture with General Electric equipment in the jails. So the U.S. has been practicing torture on political opponents for more than 50 years now. The torture business and the U.S. is not new. That country, has been contravening the Geneva convention for years. Fortunatelly, all empires do not last for ever and finally is coming to an end.
Dougie, there is more danger in the U.K. of having the racist Nazi BNP gaining power than sharia law being introduced in this country, this is why it is important to vote, so that people like them never gain power.
It is not Al-queda who the U.S. is killing in the Swat valley Dougie, it is ordinary people who live there that are suffering the consequences. You only have to see the 2 million people dispossed of their land living under tents provided by the UN. Haven't you seen the numerous protests President Karzai from Afghanistan has done to the U.S. to stop killing civilians ? The massacre that the U.S. is doing there is criminal and Obama is just another butcher just as Clinton is. They are all the same. But they will get their commapance. What goes around, comes around...
Dougie, adding to what I just said above, the new Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already made clear his OPPOSITION to the creation of an independent Palestinian Estate. The Palestinians have been there for thousands of years, that is the land of their forefathers, they have as much a right to have a Palestinian estate as the Israelis, whose estate is only 60 years old. Dougie, so where do you want the Palestians to go ? Pehaps if you don't want them to have a Palestinian estate would you like to invite them to the U.K. ?
That rat infested Iraq that you mentioned, is the craddle of civilization, democracy was invented there as well as Algebra. The Arabs were eating with forks and knives when the Europeans were still eating with their fingers ! if its rat infested now, they have the U.S. invaders to thank for that
Robert,
Thank you for making me laugh, that was hilarious.
On our news tonight, most important news .. we taxpayers are now paying for our 'honourable members' to go to weightwatchers. Apparently it will improve productivity, sick leave, morale, the list went on ...
Maria,
Where do i start? First of all I dont care where the palestinians go...under 12 feet of concrete seems a promising possibility,where would you like the israelis to go?
Your complaint is that the us has practised torture....have not our enemies done the same?
Maybe if THEY stopped killing OUR civilians we might stop killing theirs?
Iraq qwas a shithole run by a maniac and his murderous sons,and if there was any democracy there ,then the meaning of the word democracy must have got lost in translation somewhere along the line.
Only my opinion of course,but then Im not an "armchair terrorist" I guess,so perhaps Im supporting the wrong side?
This should cheer you up....Iran has just announced that it has test fired a missile successfully...the missile has a range of 1200 miles,Israel is in range,and so are parts of europe,,,,how reassuring!All the armchair terrorists out there can rejoice,secure in the knowledge that the middle eastern despots would never think of using it against us,being the fair minded and reasonable people they are. lol
Hi all
Victoria, you are lucky if it's just the MPs who are in weightwatchers. We are all in it here. It's compulsory. Every time the MPs move a muscle, our wallets are lightened. We have all lost pounds!
We needn't worry about the "extremist government" scenario. This is just a ruse the Establishment uses to persuade us to keep cleaning their moats for them and helping them to dodge their taxes. The fact is, despite what they may tell you and what they tell themselves, MPs are not in it from principle, or to make a difference. They are in it for money, status and power. Their recent feverish attempts to "catch up with the public" over expenses proves that they dislike being hated, laughed at and being generally unpopular, and they will start offering people what they want when they see the turnouts dropping.
It will take some time for the message to sink in, because politicians aren't particularly bright, so one has to stick at it, studiously declining to vote year after year. And one has to keep an eye on them. For instance, they will doubtless attempt to smuggle some scams and tricks into the new "transparent" system.
All you have to remember is that they're politicians.
Dougie,
Wait, wait right there. The Palestinians are here to stay, whether you like it or not, they have a right to live in this planet as much as you do. They are not going to all die, even if they wish they did. What you are saying is the same thing that Hitler had in mind with the Jews and Hitler failed to exterminate them all. So the best thing is to try to co-exist with everybody. So I have to tell you I do not have enemies. I do not consider anybody my enemy.
All the other European countries where the Jews were persecuted and treated very badly, felt they needed a place to put the Jewish people This is why Europe made the Jewish state 61 years ago, in remorse for what they did to them and also because they know they have to put them somewhere.
Robert, heh,heh,heh the first part is funny but the second part... Robert there are extremists look at what happened to Germany when Hitler got in. Look at what happend to Iraq when Saddam got in, look at what happend to the U.S. when Bush got in. The U.S. is now broke. The dollar is not worth much and now the Euro has taken the place of the once might dollar. If people do not vote, then the Neo-Nazis are going to get in. Would you like that to happen ?
No, Maria, the neo-nazis are not going to get in, nor are the Communists, nor are the Islamists. The situation in Weimar Germany is in no way comparable to Britain. Hitler didn't have an absolute majority of the vote - if memory serves, it was 30 or 40%. But the turnout was respectable, not low.
He was helped into office by the Establishment, by people like Hindenburg, who for his failures in World Wat 1 should have been taken out and shot. The Army constantly meddled in politics. The country had just experienced a crushing defeat in 1918. It experienced hyperinflation in 1923. And in 1929 the Depression reared its head. The Weimar constitution was flawed, allowing rule by decree. Furthermore - and enthusiasts for European Union please note - the country was a young country, which had only existed since 1871. Before that it had been a collection of smaller countries - over 600 before Napoleon, I believe. Worth bearing in mind that the country which engineered German unification - Prussia - no longer exists except as a distant memory. Nobody regards himself as a Prussian. Britain and Spain can expect the same if the Euro madness goes ahead.
Interesting that the other major fascist state - Italy - was another young country, unified about the same time as Germany.
I know where I think civilisation lies, and it isn't in huge superstates and big governments. It's in individuals.
Robertito,
The odious Tony Blair got into power with just 22% of the electorate. If people hadn't been dreaming and gone to vote. The nightmare of having had Blair and his compinche Gordo Brown would never had happened. Gordo without the N at the end means fat in Spanish !
Anyway... you are outnumbered ! Voting is a privileged as well as a duty to care what happens to your country.
Victoria, I do the same, my vote is with the third party rather than the two parties who have been guilty of the most outrageous expenses and the Liberal Democrats have now overtaken Labour in the polls, since their expenses didn't amount to fraud like the Conservaties and Labour Parties, and so the Liberal Democrats will stand a very good chance in the next elections. In the meantime, the Speaker of the House of ill repute has resigned and their ancient right to do their own rules is now also gone ! Now they will be overseen by an independent regulator. We will have to see what the new rules will be if their is more to protest about. A little puzzle for everyone: Do you know why the British do not riot like the French, the Spanish and the Greeks ?
Because they'd miss "Eastenders."
Actually, Maria, the British often rioted in the 18th century, and the riots were often led by aristos. Then Queen Victoria set a very much more seemly, middle-class tone and exceot for Chartism, the British sort of went to sleep.
Ha,ha,ha,ha, You never fail to make me laugh ! You are such a gem.
Okay here it goes.
Why the British do not riot ? Cause its raining!
The way of protest is by post !
We complain to the Queen, to the newspapers, write to the police, write to the council, write in a blog, we do anything but we don't get wet.
That's a good one, Maria. And of course, it is difficult to riot while holding an umbrella. One hand is already taken up holding the thing, leaving only one hand to throw missiles at the police. There would be a grave risk of confusion, with umbrellas being hurled at the police and bricks used to keep off the rain.
Ha,ha,ha,ha Robert that was great fun ! and because its too cold. No one in their right mind would be rioting with this weather.
except maybe the ducks !
Did you see the two Lords that have been expelled now from the House of Lords for receiving bribes ? This had not happen in 350 years. It seems like this lot is breaking all the records in sleaze !
Yes Maria, they've been suspended from the House. Personally I'd rather they were suspended from a tree.
Hanged from a tree, Yes. The latest is that the House of Commons officials colluded with the MPs to let them make inflated claims on their mortgages. The parliamentary authorities gave secret permission for some MPs to over-claim in deals that led to the systematic abuse of the taxpayers funded expenses system. There will be more naming and shaming over the next few days. None of the other MPs who have benefited from the "phantom" mortgage deals have been named or are thought to have been asked to pay back claims. It is feared that if other MPs were allowed to inflate mortgage claims, with the authority of the fees office, the problem may be far wider and could lead to a widespread criminal action. I think Faulks Day is going to be very interesting this year.
Hi Maria
Oh,I'm sure there are plenty of secrets yet to be disclosed. The sheer scale of the thing is what's keeping the story running. We're not talking about a few rotten apples here, we're talking about a few good ones, at the most.
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