Going To The Dogs
Paul Staines writes a regular blog under the pseudonym Guido Fawkes - but he had an opinion piece in The Times yesterday which was spot on in its analysis of the Tim Yeo affair.
The point is that it's not just a few bad apples spoiling the bunch - because lots of MPs and 'noble' peers from all parties are quietly milking the system for all it's worth - politicians of all parties are working under bizarre rules that would simply not be tolerated in other walks of life.
So the conclusion to be drawn is that the rules are essentially corrupt and need to be toughened up - because you do not find this kind of behaviour in the Scottish Parliament, for example.
Whether it's allowing full-time MPs to hold other well paid jobs - or to spend long periods away from Westminster - or paying £300 a day tax-free to 'noble' peers who have retired early on a generous public pension - all of this needs to stop.
Otherwise the reputation of the Westminster Parliament - which is already very poor of course - is likely to go completely to the dogs.
Yeo must go.
He cannot have this conflict of interest
It is not enough just to point to the relevant entry in the registry
Tim Yeo is the chairman of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, which is given the task by Parliament of examining the expenditure, administration and policies of that department and its associated public bodies. Mr Yeo is additionally the non-executive chairman of AFC Energy and was chairman of the board at Eco City Vehicles plc. He also has board roles at TMO Renewables Limited and Groupe Eurotunnel SA, which owns GB Railfreight, the company about whose managing director Mr Yeo boasted to The Sunday Times: “I was able to tell him in advance what he should say” before he appeared in front of his very own Commons committee. Mr Yeo strenuously denies the allegation.
Taxpayers pay Mr Yeo an extra £14,728 annually on top of his MP’s salary for chairing that select committee. In January alone — the last month for which I can find him making a declaration of his registered interests — he picked up an additional £18,090 from his various private interests. You do not have to hold as cynical a view of politicians as I do, after my years of closely following their doings, to suspect that this is crucial when considering the latest developments in the life of the member for South Suffolk.
Some say that Parliament should now be restricted to full-time politicians. That seems unwise. We criticise the political class for being out of touch with reality. Insulating them further from the real world will not make them better politicians.
Those who chair select committees, however, are powerful figures: able, like judges, to summon witnesses and to influence regulations that — as in the case of subsidies to GB Railfreight — can cost or save corporations millions. Now that select committee chairmen are paid to do their job, it is fair to expect them not to have another paid job that conflicts with their role.
Too many of Mr Yeo’s private interests coincide with the area that his select committee is charged with examining. There is a clear conflict of interest that cannot be overcome by Mr Yeo merely staying silent, as he did when GB Railfreight appeared in front of his committee, or by simply saying: “I draw your attention to the relevant entry in my register of interests.” Select committee chairmen, like ministers, should have no financial interest that overlaps with the field that their committee examines. If Mr Yeo wants to keep his 2.5 million share options in AFC Energy, he has no honourable option other than to resign as Chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee.
Paul Staines blogs as Guido Fawkes at order-order.com@guidofawkes
