Expenses shame continues

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Elliott Morley – the former Labour MP for Scunthorpe – has pleaded guilty to dishonestly claiming more than £30,000 in parliamentary expenses. Morley is the fourth Labour MP to appear in court over expenses fraud – all of whom have either been found guilty by the court or pleaded guilty.

The expenses scandal is a festering sore for the party, and a shameful episode which we cannot afford to forget. Whilst MPs from other parties are also tainted by the scandal (think duck houses and moats), the party needs to take a long hard look at itself. Not just in terms of reforming the expenses system, but also in terms of properly scrutinising those who become MPs, and properly holding them to account.

We might want to forget this kind of illegal behaviour, and hope that such events are behind us, but the public will remember, and so must we.