Damage to our political system
The great expenses scandal of 2009 has shown diminished public confidence in politicians. Unfortunately, the essential reforms required to prevent this kind of abuse happening in future are not being made. The disastrous behaviour that has so diminished the standing of Westminster will thus be able to continue.

Further decline is likely
No party took any action on expenses until the truth came out. Together, the political class defeated the few brave MPs and outsiders who drew attention to the abuses, and called for change. Only the intervention of a free press (however imperfect) brought things into the open.

Why we must demand change, now
I have spelled out the reforms necessary with reference to MP expenses in my new book, ‘A Crisis of Trust’, available from the Bruges Group. But something else is even more urgently required: we need to redefine what it means to be an MP.

We need MPs who do not see being in parliament as a career, who do not see life in the Commons as merely an extension of life in civil service with added television appearances, and who see virtue in being independent of their parties, in being able to exercise their own judgement, and in not being beholden for their livelihoods to their party leaders. These are the MPs whom we can trust to give their first allegiance to their constituents. Please let us have more like them.

Stuart Wheeler