Rotten to the core

Another week, another political corruption scandal in the UK Parliament, with an MP and three unelected peers standing down from their parties - but not their seats, perks and salaries - for accepting bribes for the performance of their Parliamentary duties. One of them - Lord Laird - was caught in two sting operations on the same weekend, which tells you just how common this corrupt behaviour is. And it raises the question of just how much of Westminster's business - how many questions, how many amendments, how many functions or early day motions or inquiries - are bought and paid for by corporate cash.

Astonishingly, this still doesn't seem to be a crime. In New Zealand, it is a serious criminal offence, punishable by seven years imprisonment, for any MP to take bribes (or offer to take bribes) for any act done in the performance of their Parliamentary duties. In the UK, not so much. A perfect example of politicians looking out for themselves at the expense of the public.

It has been almost twenty years since cash for questions, and the problem is still with us. The political class have not learned, they have not cleaned up their act. They - and by extension, the entire system which they represent - are irredeemably corrupt, rotten to the core. And bulldozing the lot of them into the Thames and starting again from scratch is the only way to fix it.