When I first heard this piece of news I thought- as if Labour needed another scandalising wound to mark its already shaky reputation. But then I heard the names: Patricia Hewitt, Geoff Hoon and Stephen Byers (particularly the first two) and I thought back to January earlier this year... On 6th January 2010, they jointly called for a secret ballot on the future of the leadership of Gordon Brown and although it did not amount to much it, this marked them as a blatant threat to Labour within the party. With both MP’s having already agreed to step down as MP’s in the next election (Hewitt particularly concerning expenses claims), I am left wondering what kind of political suicide attempt this was on their behalf? But for Labour this has become hidden benefit- killing two unruly MP’s with one throw of a stone by the Party’s Chief Whip so to speak- and they have cleaned the slate for the election so the new Labour candidates for the Leicester West and Ashfield can step into their election campaigns without the previous MP’s hanging around to cause any more damage.
On the bright side- at least they were not involved in the other scandal that a BBC investigation brought to light today- revealing that more than 20 MPs had breached rules in relation to registering and declaring overseas trips paid for by foreign governments. That’s something to consider as they trail back to their second home’s tonight...
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