Thus, in the NHS, the documents refer not to women, but to “people with cervix”, while the directors avoid responsibility for the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of newborn babies. Prison officials refer to detainees as “clients” and cells as “rooms”, while allowing Islamist detainees to control prison wards. The police chiefs express pious nonsense, while virtually decriminalizing whole categories of crimes and leading the widespread abuse of police power. And so it is in Westminster, where politicians wear a different lapel badge every day to show their virtue, propose new laws to criminalize faith and thought, and fight in the name of progress even to nominate a woman in interviews. but turn a blind eye to blatantly immoral behavior by friends and colleagues. Some of this immoral behavior is now being revealed. The Tory MPs appear to be planning a tax tribute in the 1990s, with news of an economic and sexual routine. There was the Owen Paterson lobby scandal and the failed attempt to overturn its suspension by the Commons. Imran Ahmad Khan was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. And now Neil Parish has resigned after watching pornography in the House of Commons. There are many other examples. There was the Greensill case, in which David Cameron pressured ministers and officials to support his employer’s controversial plans. There is Rob Roberts, who was found guilty of sexually harassing a junior staff member, Jamie Wallis, who has been accused by police of not stopping after crashing his car, and David Wurberton, who has been charged with financial corruption, drug, which he denies. . And of course, there is the Prime Minister himself, who violated the lockdown laws he imposed on others and refused to do so in Parliament. Johnson also denies any wrongdoing by appointing his friend Evgeny Lebedev, the son of a former KGB officer, to the House of Lords and denies allegations that he used his position as mayor of London to help his then-mistress Jennifer Arcuri. The problem is not limited to the Tory benches. A parliamentary committee has suggested that Liam Byrne, a Labor MP, should be suspended after finding that he had intimidated his staff. Claudia Webbe remains an MP after the suspended sentence that threatened a woman with acid. Barry Gardiner, who has taken Beijing’s seat in parliament, has received donations of hundreds of thousands of pounds from a woman who has been confirmed by intelligence services to be a spy for China. And just last week, we were given reason to doubt the honesty and integrity of the Labor leader and deputy leader. Despite repeated denials from Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner, we learned that Starmer was accompanied by Rayner at an event last year where they were accused of violating lockdown rules. There is undoubtedly a cultural problem in Westminster, and whether sexual, financial or otherwise, the issues facing these scandals are similar. They concern the abuse of power, the erosion of the rules of courtesy and decency, the weakness of institutions and their ability to set and enforce rules and the disrespect of democratic accountability. For those who may know what is going on and do not act, there is also a primary belief in – and sometimes fear in – their own party, its leadership and its whips. Because, to be honest, as with MPs ‘expenses, bankers’ bonuses, the intrusion of tabloid phones and many other institutional crises of recent decades, many of the offenses are in plain sight. Ask any Westminster-based staff, MPs or journalists who all have stories of different types of abuse of power. No one should want summary justice or a trial from Twitter – fake rumors and lies always abound naturally – but we should all have an interest in the transparency and cleansing of our democracy. So what can be done? First, we need leadership. Just as David Cameron took over his MPs for misappropriation of spending, so now we need party leaders to tidy up their homes. The whips already know a lot about their herds, but the right research – always following the right procedure – should uproot troubled MPs. Of course, Boris Johnson always survived his own scandals, partly avoiding the moral judgment of others. But tolerating abuses of power means encouraging them: the naughty must be thrown out of their parties. Second, we need new rules and laws. It is ridiculous that voters are not in a position to recall MPs like Rob Roberts and Claudia Webbe. Obstacles to recall – for reasons of personal conduct, if not policy positions – should be completely removed. Likewise, the rules and procedures for judging Members on their conduct need to be improved. Liam Byrne has been found guilty of “significant misuse of power”, but faces a two-day suspension from the Commons. Transparency rules for donations, financial interests and tax matters also need to be tightened. And third, to change the terms of employment of Parliament executives. Members should be free to decide who to hire and to be responsible for the annual evaluations. But they should no longer be the legal employers of their staff. Parliament should become their employer, allowing for professional support, remuneration decisions that reflect the qualifications and performance and grievance procedures that staff can trust to be independent. We must be careful not to paint all Members with the same brush as those who have abused their power and privileges. Most serve the public with noble motives. But neither can we pretend that there is no problem. More than a dozen lawmakers from different parties are being investigated for sexual harassment, and there is evidence of criminal behavior and financial suffocation as well. This is not an endoscopic story of “Westminster Bubble”. If we care about our democracy – and if the Tories care about their reputation for honesty and integrity – the business to clean it up must begin today.
