The cracks begin to appear…
After a few weeks of insane amounts of work capped off with two days of interviewing a very dynamic set of candidates for comparative politics in our Department I awake to see the first cracks in the new Coalition appear.
The cuts we expected. The uncomfortable mixture of policies we expected. The clamour of voices, claims and counter claims we expected. The continuation of the expenses scandal we did not. Or at least we hoped we would not have to see another story on this problem.
Again we are confronted with a politician making ex post facto arguments for why over 400000 pounds was claimed in error. The appeal to privacy is fine as long as it does not involve public money. This is yet another example of the crossing of the public and the private in ways that continues to sully Westminster and by extension, Number 10.
The much publicised reduction in ministerial salaries and perks made a welcome change to the system, but this appears to be an endemic and corrosive problem that simply will not go away. Its eradication will take a significant culture shift that one only hopes is actually possible.
For now, I would like to see the Coalition do the right thing and act swiftly to demonstrate its commitment to cleaning up British politics.
