David Laws’ resignation: The responses

by Jennifer Painter / @jenpainter

David Laws, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has resigned after The Daily Telegraph revealed that he claimed more than £40,000 in expenses for a room rented from his long-term partner.

Laws’ full letter of resignation:

Dear Prime Minister,

The last 24 hours have been very difficult and distressing for me, and I have been thinking carefully about what action I should take in the interests of the Government, my constituents and – most important of all – those whom I love.

I am grateful for the strong support which I have received from my friends, family, and from you, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor.

This support has been incredibly important, but nonetheless, I have decided that it is right to tender my resignation as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

I have done so for three reasons.

First, I do not see how I can carry on my crucial work on the Budget and Spending Review while I have to deal with the private and public implications of recent revelations.

At this important time, the Chancellor needs, in my own view, a Chief Secretary who is not distracted by personal troubles.

I hardly need say how much I regret having to leave such vital work, which I feel all my life has prepared me for.

Secondly, while my recent problems were caused by my desire to keep my sexuality secret, the public is entitled to expect politicians to act with a sense of responsibility.

I cannot now escape the conclusion that what I have done was in some way wrong, even though I did not gain any financial benefit from keeping my relationship secret in this way.

Finally, and most importantly, I have an overriding responsibility to those I love most, and who I feel I have exposed to scrutiny in this way.

I have pursued a political career because of my sense of public duty, but I have too often put this before the interests of those I love most. It is time to redress the balance.

I want to apologise to my constituents for falling below the standards that they are entitled to expect from me.

The job of being a constituency MP is no less important to me than my cabinet responsibilities.

I shall ensure that I co-operate fully with the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner in the review that I have requested.

I intend to consider carefully over the period ahead how I can best serve the interests of my Yeovil constituency, which I care so passionately about.

It has been a great honour to serve however briefly in your Government and I will remain its strong supporter.

Yours sincerely,

David Laws

David Cameron’s letter of response:

Dear David,

Thank you for your letter tendering your resignation from the Government, which I accept with sadness.

The last 24 hours must have been extraordinarily difficult and painful for you.

You are a good and honourable man. I am sure that, throughout, you have been motivated by wanting to protect your privacy rather than anything else.

Your decision to resign from the Government demonstrates the importance you attach to your integrity.

In your short time at the Treasury, you have made a real difference, setting the Government on the right path to tackle the deficit which poses such a risk to our economy.

I hope that, in time, you will be able to serve again as I think it is absolutely clear that you have a huge amount to offer our country.

Yours,

David [Cameron]

In a statement last night, George Osborne said that it was “as if [Laws] had been put on earth to do the job that was asked of him”. He continued:

“I am very sorry to lose David from the treasury. It was as if he had been put on earth to do the job that was asked of him.

“I spoke to David several times over the last twenty four hours and I have a huge admiration for the way he has conducted himself in the most difficult circumstances. I completely understand and respect his decision to step down. Public life should have a future place for such an honourable, talented person.

“Danny Alexander will now take up this challenging job. I spent many many hours with Danny negotiating the coalition agreement, and in that time I came to value his intelligence, hard work and keen judgement. He is a smart addition to the treasury team as we sort out Britain’s economic mess.”

When Vince Cable was asked if Laws could have stayed on as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, he responded:

“He could have done because he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“And the mistake that was made, as David set out very clearly, was to protect privacy rather than for personal gain.

“It hasn’t damaged the coalition government. The coalition government will continue, we’ve got a good programme, we’ve got good people and David is being replaced.

“It certainly hasn’t damaged our party, and I don’t think it’s damaged politics as a whole.”

Michael Gove commented:

“I feel incredibly sad, I mean I think that David’s an incredibly talented guy… and he was someone who was completely non-tribal in the way he approached politics, he was thoughtful, he was idealistic.”

Lord Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, has described the situation as a “personal tragedy”.