LibDem leader must grasp opportunity to become “clean up” Clegg
It is immediately clear why the Telegraph decided to run this story after revelations surrounding the other two parties (and ahead of any grand finale the paper may have planned). It doesn’t have a huge amount of punch.
Nick needs to be certain that any claim made by any Liberal Democrat MP was within both the spirit and letter of the law AND would withstand public scrutiny. Technical, minor errors should be repaid – and this process has begun.
But if -after a full assessment of the facts which have been brought to light – any LibDem Parliamentarian has breached this code, serious disciplinary action must follow.
But, it’s not just Liberal Democrats in the House of Commons. The reputation of the party rests on the behaviour of all our parliamentary representatives.
Largely overlooked as the wider “Fiddlegate” story was leading every news cycle, Sunday’s News of the World made assertions about Chris Rennard’s expenses claims as a member of the House of Lords. The allegations should be relatively easy to investigate and rebut.
The issue hinges on the newspaper’s claim that Lord Rennard’s Eastbourne property is not his “main residence”. It needs to be shown that it is. In a clear, complete and unambiguous fashion.
Lord Rennard, of course, is not just a Lib Dem peer, he is the party’s chief executive -and so also accountable for his conduct as an employee. The Federal Executive next meets on 18th May. But Nick will surely have put this issue to bed by then.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Maybe he’s gone on holiday… 4 weeks before the European elections…
May 13th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Hurrah – quite incredible that 4 days later this has not been rebutted or dealt with. Why?
To my mind far worse if true than anything we’ve seen from our MPs and from a bloke with a full time job and (very) healthy salary to boot. What on earth is holding back a rebuttal?
May 13th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Hi Nina, I too was bemused as to why there has been silence on the issue – except perhaps high command were all too focused on Fiddlegate and what that might mean for Lib Dem MPs.
Clearly something must be said now either by Chris himself or indeed Nick.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
This looks pretty awful…needs dealing with urgently
May 13th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Yes Keith, and it should be simple to sort out.
May 15th, 2009 at 12:00 am
And 5 days on nothing? Are they planning a Lords special? And two Peers have been suspended. Have we missed something – even ultra loyal Paul Walters is calling for answers on LibDemGob. And Guido is still quiet after this
http://www.order-order.com/2009/05/sunday-sleaze-bumper-edition/
I’m bemused. Surely a Local Party ought to have acted by now even if those who should know better haven’t. Please please issue a rebuttal someone? Why aren’t they?
May 15th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I too am bemused why they have not said something by now. As you say it is now 5 days since the allegation was levelled.
By the way, did anyone see Nick Clegg on any media yesterday? I did not see him anywhere – but maybe i missed it. We seem to be letting the Tories take the lead on this one, which is simply absurd.