Elephant in the Room
The elephant in the room during yesterday's Queens' Speech - one of Westminster's great parliamentary occasions - was the failure of Her Majesty's government to mention the MPs' expenses scandal.
To the astonishment of many observers - the biggest scandal of modern times just vanished into thin air - which speaks volumes about the government's future programme.
Less than six months ago - when the expenses candal broke - Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, no less ruled out an early election - declaring boldly that MPs had no choice but to sort out a mess of their own making.
So how has it come to this?
Even Sir Christopher Kelly has expressed his disappointment that the government of the day wasted a golden opportunity - to explain how it would take forward and implement his package of proposed reforms.
At most, the government has six months left before it must call a general election - but voters are entitled to know how the Westminster Parliament intends to clean up its act - before deciding which party to support.
The latest debacle over MPs' expenses shows a real lack of leadership - and tells you all you need to know about the government's future intentions.
If they can get away with addressing these issues 'under the radar' - without a public debate and proper scrutiny - they will do so without hesitation.
Definitely not one of Westminster's better days.
To the astonishment of many observers - the biggest scandal of modern times just vanished into thin air - which speaks volumes about the government's future programme.
Less than six months ago - when the expenses candal broke - Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, no less ruled out an early election - declaring boldly that MPs had no choice but to sort out a mess of their own making.
So how has it come to this?
Even Sir Christopher Kelly has expressed his disappointment that the government of the day wasted a golden opportunity - to explain how it would take forward and implement his package of proposed reforms.
At most, the government has six months left before it must call a general election - but voters are entitled to know how the Westminster Parliament intends to clean up its act - before deciding which party to support.
The latest debacle over MPs' expenses shows a real lack of leadership - and tells you all you need to know about the government's future intentions.
If they can get away with addressing these issues 'under the radar' - without a public debate and proper scrutiny - they will do so without hesitation.
Definitely not one of Westminster's better days.
