So far, former Labour MPs David Chaytor (Bury North) and Eric Illsley (Barnsley Central) have been found to have defrauded the taxpayer of £22,000 and £14,000.
In these times when the public sector is bracing itself for cuts so deep that they will tear into the fabric of society, it is worth measuring in terms of the services that people rely on the scale of the fraud committed by Britain’s errant MPs.
So far David Chaytor, formerly Labour MP for Bury North, and Eric Illsley, formerly Labour MP for Barnsley Central , have been found in a court of law to have defrauded the taxpayer of £22,000 and £14,000 respectively.
Cumulatively these amounts are equal to:
• One and a half newly qualified teachers;
• Three part time occupational therapists that could support children with eating disorders;
• More than two therapy assistants who help mothers after childbirth
These are first and foremost legal crimes against society at large. But progressives have a particular greivance against them. Policies that feature the contribution of all to a common pot and the fair distribution from it, depend on trust: That no one is shirking thier responsibilities or taking what is not rightly theirs.
As custodians of this system, MPs should be especially trustworthy. That these are Labour MPs, the party that claims to have these principles at its very core, is shameful. Two more Labour MPs (Elliot Morley and Jim Devine)and two more Conservative Peers (Lord Hanningfield and Taylor), still face a legal verdict.
When it is all over, the entire political class, and those who wish to carry the progressive mantle, must be vigilant against any repeat of this tawdry episode.
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9 Responses to “The damage done by Illsley and Chaytor cannot be measured in pounds and pence”
Alan Marshall
RT @leftfootfwd: The damage done by Illsley and Chaytor cannot be measured in pounds and pence: http://bit.ly/eGZ0M3 writes @DanielElton
Mr. Mxyzptlk
Another Labour MP goes to jail
If you think this isnt painful
for true Labour supporters.
You are wrong!
there was something wrong at
the dark heart of New Labour
as the death throws shows.
Some go to jail others sell
themselves to any bidder
not even the highest one.
a few who only recently
served in the Labour Government
now prostrate themselves to
the new power in the Land.
for personal gain.
A sorry sordid affair
Ed has got his self
a tough time ahead.
sandy
Maybe there should be an extra year or two on the tariff for a Labour politician when found guilty of fraud from the public purse.
I say that as a new member of the Labour party.
They let down the very people they should be helping and bring the Labour party into disrepute.
Mr. Sensible
What those 2 MPs did was a disgrace.
Anon E Mouse
sandy – I agree. Maybe there should be an extra year or two for any public servant in a position of trust irrespective of their party.
I would say though that the writer here almost seems to be downplaying the amounts involved – what is important is the action.
Congratulations to Labour on the by-election win last night as well…