Rewriting the Rules

Owen Patterson was banged to rights, unanimously, by the independent watchdog on parliamentary standards and a committee comprising MPs from all parties after being caught with his hands in the till. 

He even has previous, specifically, renting out a £1.3m London house paid for by the tax payer. Additionally the government has resisted for nearly a year the release of documents that could shed light on whether the Paterson promoted a healthcare firm that paid him to be a consultant.

As for co-opting his dead wife into his campaign, at the time he said he had no idea why she committed suicide.

Why don't the Conservatives just let him serve his 30 day suspension as, with an 80 seat majority, his absence won't be missed. I guess it's because he could face a by-election. Such shameless hubris.

Why are they insistent on rewriting the rules of the game at this precise point with a new procedure, the development of which will be dominated by Conservative MPs - or, as seems likely now, just Conservative MPs?

The only conclusion is that they want to institutionalise sleaze, probably because so many of them are involved in it.

This is just one of many areas that demonstrate our slow descent into totalitarianism. 

• An elections bill set on undermining our independent Electoral Commission. 
• A bill to reform judicial review, whose principal aim is to reduce the role of the judiciary. 
• A police bill that weakens the right to legal protest 
• An education bill that threatens academic freedoms in the area of teacher training. 
• Reforming’ the UK’s implementation of the European Human Rights Act.

Dominic Raab is even now looking at legislation that enables the government to overturn judgements by the independent judiciary that it disagrees with in respect of human rights issues. What's the point of a judiciary, for God's sake if the government can overrule them. The responsibility of the judiciary to protect citizens against unlawful acts of government and it therefore needs to be independent of government, not subject to its whims.

"It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.

"Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter’d your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?

"Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defil’d this sacred place, and turn’d the Lord’s temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress’d, are yourselves gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors.

"In the name of God, go!"

Oliver Cromwell – April 20, 1653