Old Habits v New Politics
No sooner had the new MPs taken their seats - than it was announced that Labour MP Eric Illsley faced three charges under the Theft Act.
Three other Labour MPs facing similar charges before the election - were dropped like proverbial hot potatoes - even though none of them had been found guilty as charged.
But Eric Illsley is still with us - despite being accused of dishonestly claiming £20,000 in council tax and other domestic charges over three years - he is due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 17 2010.
Over the weekend another even bigger name fell to the curse of the MPs' expenses scandal - this time a Liberal Democrat MP David Laws - also a member of the government and Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Laws was exposed by the Telegraph for claiming £40,000 in rental costs which were paid to his partner - in clear contravention of the expenses rules.
David Laws promptly resigned his government position over the weekend - depart, he did, with dignity and - unusually - to much sympathy from political friends and foes alike.
But it does beg the question - just what planet are these people living on?
If David Laws wanted to keep his private life private - all he had to do was to not use public money to subsidise his personal living arrangements - then it would have been no one's business but his own.
Simple really.
