Posted January 27, 200916 yr TWO investigations will be launched into the British House of Lords this week after revelations that four Labour peers were ready to accept cash for law reform. There are also calls for a police inquiry into the allegations uncovered by a newspaper sting. According to the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne, if the allegations are confirmed, they not only breach House of Lords' rules, but break the law governing corrupt practices. "Ex-ministers should not be touting themselves like taxi drivers for hire," he said. "The police should interview those peers who have been named and investigate whether they have used any parliamentary procedures to further the interests of their clients." The scandal was uncovered by Sunday Times reporters who posed as lobbyists for a foreign company supposedly setting up a chain of shops in Britain. Four peers — Lord Taylor of Blackburn; Lord Truscott, a former energy minister; Lord Moonie, a former defence minister; and Lord Snape, a former government whip — signalled they would lobby for cash. All four vehemently deny they have done anything wrong. The four will be asked to explain themselves to the House of Lords Interests Committee. Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, the Labour leader of the Lords, has flagged that she will hold her own investigation. The House of Lords code of conduct bans any payments to peers for parliamentary influence under the "no paid advocacy" rule. If the claims are true, the Opposition has said they would amount to corruption. The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that its reporters approached Lord Taylor claiming to act for a Hong Kong businessman worried about the impact of a rate bill on his company. It said he agreed to work behind the scenes to amend the bill for a £120,000 ($A253,500) annual fee. Lord Taylor told the paper he was approached by two people claiming to be lobbyists who suggested taking him on as an adviser at a fee between £5000 and £10,000 a month. "It was their suggestion, not my suggestion," he said. "I never said I would accept it." lol.... ill let scott address this :lol:
January 27, 200916 yr I actually touched on this in another thread.... Disgusting innit...? And, I feel this has to be the final nail in the coffin for Nu Labor... They've pretty much now done everything we hated the Tories for doing in the 80s and 90s.... they are now so bloated and corrupt that they dont seem to think that they're doing anything wrong now, corruption has just become so embedded into Nu Labor psyche in the way the word 'Blackpool' runs through a stick of rock..... I've often been encouraged that the Lords stood in opposition on a number of occasions to the Commons, they have been particularly critical on things such as ID cards and the like, but now, they've really just kind of blown it, and given an excuse now for certain people to come in and basically 'de-claw' the HoL, especially if the allegations turn out to be true.. The phrase "shooting oneself in the foot" springs to mind.... Mind you, it's Nu Labor peers at the centre of this, so, I wonder...... :thinking:
January 27, 200916 yr Author what gets me is that toff twat bleating on tv 'i didnt think i was acting outside the law' ffs! hes a f***in LORD he SHOULD know! after all, its a pretty uncomplicated proposition!
January 27, 200916 yr what gets me is that toff twat bleating on tv 'i didnt think i was acting outside the law' ffs! hes a f***in LORD he SHOULD know! after all, its a pretty uncomplicated proposition! I believe the wording actually is "no paid advocacy"..... Either he's a bloody liar, or totally THICK AS PIGSH!T, either way, he's no business sitting in a bloody Parliamentary debate and deciding on important issues..... Seems to me that corruption is so endemic in the system now, it's almost like eating food or passing a turd..... :rolleyes: It really IS time for us to stop this..... If that means a few "orf wif their heads" situations, then so be it....
January 27, 200916 yr If it hastens the end of the Lords as a purely unelected chamber then at least some good will have come out of this sorry affair.
January 28, 200916 yr If it hastens the end of the Lords as a purely unelected chamber then at least some good will have come out of this sorry affair. I would tend to agree with that, if we had something similar to the US Senate, I would support that... But it would have to be a truly elected second chamber with the powers of veto, not just the power to stop things a couple of times and send it back....
January 29, 200916 yr The worse thing about this is, that even if they are guilty of this, there are no penalties that can be imposed on them. At least in the House of Commons MP's can be excluded, but you can't do that in the House of Lords without an Act of Parliament. This is outrageous, mind you even a prison sentence doesn't stop you taking your seat.....I give you Lord Archer :angry:
January 30, 200916 yr The worse thing about this is, that even if they are guilty of this, there are no penalties that can be imposed on them. At least in the House of Commons MP's can be excluded, but you can't do that in the House of Lords without an Act of Parliament. This is outrageous, mind you even a prison sentence doesn't stop you taking your seat.....I give you Lord Archer :angry: So, what happens to them then...? A slap on the wrist and sent to bed early without any supper.....? What a bloody joke this so-called "democracy" is...... <_< It really is time for a brick-by-brick, stone-by-stone dismantling of this entire, fukked up system and something better put in its place, more accountable, more democratic, more inclusive of everyone, and not just an excuse for a bunch of rich or middle-class w/ankers to lord it over the rest of us....
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