Today is the last day you can contact your MP to urge them to vote against emergency legislation preventing the publication of parliamentarian’s expenses.
News of the planned exemption hit the headlines only last Friday giving this campaign scant time to get started. Many MPs are unaware a vote a scheduled, since it has been timetabled to a slot when many may already have left for their constituencies.
It’s times like these when fast communication tools like Twitter and Facebook come into their own.
A hashtag – #MPexpenses – soon evolved. I watched in awe over the weekend as a bunch of people – including Lib Dem MPs, open democracy campaigners and political geeks – conspired in very few words to take real action:
owenblacker: UK Members of Parliament trying to keep their expenses secret — which will boost corruption and sleaze. Again. http://is.gd/gfDZ
mysociety: Have you told your least techy friend to join our campaign to stop MPs concealing their expenses yet? http://is.gd/gdGE
joswinson: can’t believe Ministers are yet again wanting to exempt MPs from FOI – tabling EDM against the change http://tinyurl.com/8l4edc
jamesgraham: @joswinson Great – I’ll make getting MPs to sign your EDM part of [Unlock Democracy’s] action.
lfeatherstone: @joswinson Good!
lordofmisrule: Cancelling Labour party membership (re: #MPexpenses). Screw you guys, I’m joining the Lib Dems.
Zoonie: #MPexpenses Sarah Teather’s joined the FB group. Any other MP’s?
owenblacker: And kudos to @joswinson, who’s gonna an EDM on this expenses bullshit on Mon: http://is.gd/ghaG / #MPexpenses / http://is.gd/gdGE
This is definitely a partisan, pro Lib Dem telling of the tale. There are plenty of others across the spectrum who are opposed to this measure. But I do think the Lib Dems have a special tale to tell. And we’ve been telling it here on the Voice, as well as bigging up Jo Swinson’s EDM.
2 Comments
Transparency is essential – they work for us, we should apply the same codes and expectations to their accountability as our employers expect from us.
I have written to my local (Lib Dem) MP asking for his voting intentions on the matter, and will publish his response – especially if he intends to vote in support of the proposed legislation.
D
Having spoken to my MP whilst canvassing with him the other day I’d hazard a guess that he will be voting against this change