Spare me the theatre – all pols and all parties have marks against their names. Now get on with it!

By Kezia Dugdale / @kezdugdale

The problem David Cameron’s got is that as much as people like him, they don’t trust him. Yesterday, he put on his angry face and promised to “deal” with the problem of MPs Expenses. And what followed? A hasty meeting with his shadow cabinet and an even hastier press conference which set out some new laws for Toryland and a proclaimation that he was “appalled.”

What? You didn’t know some of your colleagues had swimming pools, moats, chandeliers, seven houses, stables and tennis courts to maintain? Are you so out of touch with the rest of your Parliamentary group or are you worse, because you pretend to be just like everybody else? For years we’ve known how much MPs have spent – we just never knew what on. Did you never think to ask?

Spare me the political theatre.

I’m glad Hazel Blears has paid money back and Phil Hope is about to do the same because, in his own words, “This is not about votes, this is about who I am, this is about me, this is a personal decision I am making. Whenever the election comes I want those people to know that I am a person of integrity.”

But where is the difference between a conscience and a moral compass?

The reality is that politicians of all parties, with elected members in the House of Commons, have members with marks against their name. Yet they continue in their attempts to score points against each other.

* First they were trying to out do each other to spend the money.

*Then they were trying to out do each other in expressing outrage.

* Now they’re trying to out do each other in remedying the situation.

Nobody seems to recognise that setting their own rules got them into this sorry mess in the first place. An appeal to politicians of all hues: Please, stop.

Let Sir Christopher Kelly get on with the job of modernising the system and get back to your own duties. As Iain Dale reminds us, “Make policy in haste, repent at leisure”.

I had to read the Equality Bill debate on Hansard last night to find out what happened because so little media attention was paid to it. This is groundbreaking, landmark stuff from a Government fuelled by the desire for a more equal and just world.

The difference between the two parties is stark. The Tories believe that this is no time for equality and it is our duty, as Labour activists, to expose that.

I’m going door-knocking in Edinburgh East tonight with our new PPC Sheila Gilmore. I’m sure I’ll spend the first few seconds sharing mutual outrage with constituents about expenses, but then we’ll get back to the real issues of anti-social behaviour and school building programmes.

I suggest politicians everywhere do the same.

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1. Eddie Izzard and Kevin Spacey celebrate the launch of Labour’s free theatre scheme
2. An open letter to the ELDR and liberal parties across Europe