MPs’ expenses: democracy is threatened (From Borehamwood Times)

MPs’ expenses: democracy is threatened

11:09am Friday 10th July 2009

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Following the more recent antics of the Westminster elite, I remain convinced that an impromptu visit to the final resting places of both Sir William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, the celebrated British duo of satirical comic operettas famed for poking fun and ridicule at the pomposity of the nation’s establishments, may reveal evidence of disturbance even if only of minor seismic proportion.

The source of this disturbance to their eternal slumber would most probably emanate from a missed opportunity to exploit the present charade being acted out on our behalf on the Westminster stage by the ham actors of the House of Commons, Palace of Varieties in a unsolicited modern day comic operetta funded of course by the long suffering taxpayer.

Given this opportunity Gilbert and Sullivan, within days of such revelations in the press, would have moved in the scene sets and the props with the massive Great Westminster Hall becoming a green room for MPs’ rehearsals and over-indulgent make-up artists and choreographers.

As each scandalous revelation unfolded in the media, scriptwriter Gilbert would hastily amend the plot while Sullivan produced the toe-tapping catchy accompanying music which so delighted audiences in their hey-day.

The publication by the House of Commons fees office of our MPs expenses with blanked-out sections while the prime suspects sing in chorus denying any complicity in withholding information from the taxpayer must surely render this as one of the greatest comic operettas of all time which sadly failed to become a stage production and go on tour.

Meanwhile, the general public may view the serial performance of MPs in voluntarily refunding hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money while strenuously denying any wrong-doing as just another demonstration of Parliamentary contempt for the taxpayer which must be treated with disdain and then simply move on?

Alternatively the taxpayer may retaliate by ignoring their moral and public duty to play any part by becoming complicit in the re-election of a new cast to walk the boards at Westminster in less than 12 months from now.

The threat to our system of parliamentary democracy has never been at greater risk or plunged to this depth of public condemnation in the lifetime of most of us.

Frank Ward, Mildred Avenue, Borehamwood

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