PM attempts to steady party and move on from expenses scandal
Gordon Brown today tried to draw the poison from the ongoing scandal over MPs’ expenses as a remarkable ICM poll of election voting intentions pushed Labour into third place for the first time in almost 25 years.
After 10 days of lying low, the prime minister finally attempted to establish a clear way forward, setting out a code of conduct for MPs and insisting that he would not step aside, regardless of the scale of defeat for Labour in this week’s local and European elections.
Though Brown continued to insist that he would reject any cabinet attempt to persuade him to retire, one leading rebel said yesterday that the weekend’s polls confirmed his belief that either “Gordon goes or the Labour party does”. The rebel said he had not come across a single voice in England and Wales supporting the prime minister, though Brown continued to enjoy the support of Scottish MPs.
Brown only has a short while to inject new purpose into his party, with many MPs using the days between now and Thursday’s polls to decide whether to fall in behind him or join a push to oust him.
However, asked on BBC1’s Andrew Marr show today whether he would stand aside if cabinet members said it would help Labour’s chances at a general election, Brown replied: “No, because I am dealing with the issues at hand. I am dealing with the economy every day.”
His challenge was made more difficult yesterday with a sequence of opinion polls suggesting historically bad results in this week’s elections. An ICM poll for the Sunday Telegraph of voting intentions in a general election put Labour on 22 points, 18 behind the Conservatives (on 40 points) and three behind the Liberal Democrats on 25 – the first time since 1985 that Labour has plunged so low in an ICM survey.
Brown hinted at an end to the current source of public outrage – the generous MP resettlement allowances – suggesting that the independent Kelly commission looking at MPs’ salaries and due to report in the autumn would end their so-called “golden goodbyes”.
He said: “I don’t think that when the Kelly committee reports this thing will still be like it is.” Saying that recent claims had offended his “Presbyterian conscience”, he outlined a new system to “clean up” politics and all institutions that rely on public funds, including the NHS and the BBC. The prime minister hopes the plans may be inserted into the constitutional renewal bill due in parliament this year.
It is thought likely to include minimum service commitments to constituents, with those who break it facing a possible fine, being “named and shamed”, or even ejected from their seats.
Brown said of the reforms: “[They] cannot be gimmicks. It’s got to be serious, it has got to be ordered, and it has got to be done in a calm way. What I have seen offends my Presbyterian conscience. What I have seen is something that is appalling. I did not expect to see instance where there are clear cases which maybe have to be answered to for fraud.”
The last four years’ worth of receipts submitted by all MPs are currently being scrutinised by an independent committee of auditors. Brown has also set up a Labour party “star chamber” which is hearing the cases of backbenchers David Chaytor and Ian Gibson. Last week two of their colleagues, also in front of the panel, removed themselves from proceedings by announcing that they would stand down at the next general election.
At the weekend, the health secretary, Alan Johnson, who has been repeatedly tipped as preparing to step into the prime minister’s shoes, warned Labour activists that the party would be the most badly affected by the expenses scandal when the election results come in on Friday.
The party faces the ignominy of losing all its county councils across England, with the Tories confident of taking control of Lancashire and Staffordshire while robbing Labour of overall control in the other two, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
Backbenchers believe the prime minister’s aides are planning to outfox any backbench coup and expect Brown to hold a reshuffle of his cabinet on Friday which would make more difficult the organisation of a challenge. One said: “It will be difficult to get on side ministers who have within the last few hours agreed to take part in a new government.”
Meanwhile, the bullishness of the Tory leader, David Cameron, who has sought to articulate public outrage over MPs’ expenses, was pricked yesterday when a Sunday newspaper alleged that he had paid off a loan of £75,000 on his London home after buying a second home in Oxfordshire on which he could claim the second home allowance.
Though he defended an arrangement whereby all of his mortgage appeared to be on the property for which he could claim allowances, he said he would accept the finding of his party’s scrutiny panel.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/31/gordon-brown-poll-election-expenses
Kimora Lee Simmons and actor Djimon Hounsou have welcomed their first child together. “Kimora and Djimon are the proud parents of a new baby boy,” her rep tells Usmagazine.com. “Both mother and child are doing great.” Simmons, 34, also took to her Twitter page to confirm the news. She wrote, “It’s a boy! Thanks to everyone out there for all your well wishes! More to come. Thank God. And God Bless!…
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[+] Saw Ballet Shoes which is really adorable and such sad ‘feel-good’ BBC movie. I love those Brit films so much!
[+] Caught Bridge To Terabithia which I wouldn’t watch but because Zooey’s in it (as the adorable music teacher), I actually stuck around. Such a sad film. I was in tears in the end.
[+] I drove my grand aunt and my grandma to the aiport (a first for me!) and luckily there was no traffic. it’s funny though cause my grandma has a tendency to get really worked up over NOTHING so I was afraid she was going to get a heart attack from getting so angry over nothing in the car. I had to tell her to calm down cause I had no intentions of going to the hospital.
[+] Woke up to madness in Twilight fandom. The Italy shoot had spawned a gazillion photos of Edward(naked)/Bella(running) reunion and I didn’t know what to do between that and reading an update from The Office . Great way to start your day. I’d rather this much excitement not happen again though before noon time, because my heart cannot take it.
[-] Our cute priest gave a better homily this week and I was so happy about the change when my brothers told me he was only going to be here for three weeks - not sure how many of those weeks are done already. This sort of makes me sad. Plus the slow internet also makes me infuriated. What is wrong with the Internet?!?!
