As is customary and expected with any sudden
change of course by the PM, he has failed to think through the implications of
his attempt to undermine Labour by proposing some tinkering with the rules on outside
earnings by MPs. The Guardian has pointed
out that, of all the MPs who have second jobs, only around 10 would be
impacted by the changes which the PM has proposed. Once again, appearances have
been given more prominence than substance and, once again, his words fall apart
as soon as they are subjected to any analysis.
His words
in describing the case of Owen Paterson as “a sad case” in which
Paterson “had fallen foul of the rules” as though it was some sort of
accidental transgression suggest that he still does not understand quite how
egregious Paterson’s actions were. As additional evidence for that conclusion, the Guardian points out that his new proposals (although they have been
described as some sort of ‘ban’) would probably not even have covered the case
of Owen Paterson. The Chair of the Commons Standards Committee, Chris Bryant,
has said
today that the PM’s proposals are “not very well thought through”. If
there were any evidence of competence or thought on the part of Johnson, I’d
almost be tempted to disagree. Proposing a ‘clean-up’ which would have
exonerated Paterson, and actually leave more freedom for his MPs to enrich
themselves on the side by lobbying than current standards allow might start to
look like a cunning plan. It’s either so cunning that even the intended
beneficiaries don’t understand it, or else it’s as silly and unworkable as it
appears. Occam’s razor
applies.
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