His offence was foolish but hardly a crime. The Ministerial Code is intended to prevent conflicts of interest from arising. None arose. He entered every transaction into the register of members’ interests. He did everything he was obliged to and made a royal balls up of the discretionary bits. He’s been a grade A berk.
Does he deserve to have his career terminated, his reputation ruined, his earnings potential permanently curtailed? I don’t think so. What makes us so unforgiving of our politicians? Why are we so convinced of their venality that we can’t allow even a disabled man at the end of his tether some leeway?
We’ve become a blood-thirsty bunch, gleefully dissecting the blighted love lives (and failed diets) of celebrities and eviscerating our public servants for even the slightest departure from the kind of probity we long ago abandoned in our own rather less exciting lives. In public life we’ve exchanged the deference and unearned privilege of the past for the nastiness and unearned brutality of the celebrity era – and it’s not an improvement. It makes me feel slightly sick.
Remember this, ‘On the Make and On the Take’. Sounds like Blunkett to me.
I seem to remember that Labour were fairly hard nosed about Tory behaviour. And I don’t recall Blunkett ever being a shrinking violet when it came to our behaviour. Take ’em down, that’s what I say.
Whether it was ethical and legal for Blunkett to use his (ex) ministerial position to try and rake it in, it stinks so high that I’m glad he’s gone.
I knew you’d say that…
It’s not just the DNA Science fiasco. It all goes back to ugly fat-legged Kimberly. She was convinced he would be the next Prime Minister (as if!) and when she realised he wasn’t going to be she paraded him for all to see. A messy old business. And a shame because I think it’s a bit of a waste of good talent that he is gone.
Yes, he deserved everything he got, and more.
We elect politicians to the the job they’re mean to be doing, nothing more- if they’re doing other than what they are elected to do they are not serving their constituents- end of story.
Sad to see Labour bceoming just as bad as the sleazy Tory mob we got rid of.