Eric Illsley admits MP expenses charges

[Hopeless Romantic]

Eric Illsley today became the first sitting MP to be convicted of expenses fraud when he admitted dishonestly claiming more than £14,000.

The MP, who was due to stand trial at Southwark crown court, changed his plea to guilty, admitting three charges of false accounting relating to claims for repairs, utility bills, council tax and house maintenance between 2005 and 2008.

Illsley, who was re-elected as Labour MP for Barnsley Central at the general election, was suspended by the party after being charged and now sits as an independent in the Commons.

It was alleged that he falsely claimed more than £25,000 of expenses on his second home in London over three years, but today his barrister, William Coker QC, said his client admitted wrongly claiming a revised sum of about £14,500.

more

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jan/11/mp-eric-illsley-admits-charges


Incredibly he remains an MP and will keep his seat unless he's sentenced to more than 12 months.

How can that be right?

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. One of my MEPs kept his seat, while serving 6 months for benefit fraud

(the fraud was from before he became an MP). It's a crappy system; one of the ideas about allowing constituents to 'recall' an MP is that if they are convicted of something, that should be enough for a petition to be started to recall him, which would result in a recall vote in the seat with a decent amount of signatures.

[LeftishBrit]

4. Why not just make it a rule that you can't continue as an MP/MEP if you happen to be 'inside'?

Apart from all other considerations, you're not going to be able to attend parliamentary sessions under such circumstances, and it's difficult to hold a constituency surgery in a prison cell!

I am one of rather few people who is dubious about the 'recall' idea. I think that most proven crooks will be forced out by other means anyway (though I know Ashley Mote wasn't!) and that the recall provision will be taken up by the tabloid press and similar RW groups to attack MPs who are seen as too left-wing on some key issue: 'let's get rid of him/her - he/she is TOO SOFT ON IMMIGRANTS/CRIMINALS/SINGLE PARENTS/ABORTION/ THOSE SO-CALLED DISABLED PEOPLE WHO SCROUNGE OFF BENEFITS!' I had always felt that way, and the vicious smear campaign by the British version of the Christian Right, which contributed to my MP's defeat last time, has not exactly changed my mind! Nor have some of the ways in which such provisions have been used in America. Direct democracy is great in principle; in practice it often means rule by whichever RW pressure group is loudest and/or best-funded.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. I'd like that; but there seems a lot of reluctance to be that straightforward

I wonder if it's a feeling of guilt about Bobby Sands or something. Yes, I'd say that anyone serving a custodial sentence should be disqualified from being an MP.

I think, for the 'recall' system proposed, there has to be a trigger event - a conviction, a formal censure by the Commons for some misbehaviour or something. It can't start just with a campaign to get rid of an MP.

[Hopeless Romantic]

2. Online petition

http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41938.html

[T_i_B]

3. What gets me...

is that he was reselected by Barnsley Labour party in the first place.

Now I know that Barnsley is the sort of place where a dead donkey is guaranteed election, so long as it's got a red rosette on it but that's no excuse.

[LeftishBrit]

6. He won't keep his seat. Miliband and the rest of the Labour leadership are demanding that he go.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jan/11/labour-eric-illsley-resign-or-we-will-force-out

Which is a good thing. He isn't exactly an asset to his party, constituency, or country!

[T_i_B]

7. He's already been stripped of the whip

so there's not much else that the Labour party can do.

[T_i_B]

8. Update: Illsey to stand down as an MP.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12174117

[Jeneral2885]

9. Another negative poitn for Labour

Well hopefully not too damaging

[LeftishBrit]

10. There are two Tory lords about to stand trial..

as well as as a few MPs who were ordered to stand down by their party before the election. So it's hardly a specifically Labour scandal.

Although I certainly hold no brief for MPs who cheat the taxpayer out of expenses, especially when they're demanding frugality from *us*, there are other forms of corruption which get far less mention in the press, and may be technically legal, but are as bad or worse in their effects. Like Andrew Lansley accepting money for his office from a private health insurance form. As far as I'm concerned, for the Health Secretary (or Shadow one as he was then) to do this is a form of bribe-taking, even if not prohibited by law; and he ought to be sacked!

[Jeneral2885]

11. ah

well it's then a plus point for fringe parties like the BNP

[T_i_B]

12. Anyone who thinks the BNP are clean needs their head examining.

Still, we have a by-election in Oldham East & Saddleworth today, and the outcome of that will be quite instructive. I'm not expecting a very positive outcome there though, such is the dreadful state of UK politics.

[Jeneral2885]

14. I didnt say that

But the more today's mainstream parties make mistakes--expenses, frauds, ugly faux pas and so on--the more the public will disbelieve them and believe in other parties.

[T_i_B]

15. Yes, but it always needs reiterating.

Although happily it looks like they didn't do owt much in last nights by-election.

[LeftishBrit]

13. I hope not...

and they are far from models of honesty themselves!

It may mean people simply not bothering to vote - turnout is low at by-elections at the best of time.

But we shall see. I think in Oldham there'll be an increased Labour share of the vote despite Illsley: combination of dislike of the coalition government; some people voting Labour because they're pissed off that the LibDems got their beloved Phil Woolas kicked out; and other people voting Labour because they've now got a decent candidate instead of the dreadful Woolas!

[LeftishBrit]

16. BTW, the Tory Lord Taylor has now been convicted too.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12275821

[T_i_B]

17. Labour win Barnsley Central by-election

Labour romp hope (as always in Barnsley) UKIP 2nd ahead of Tories, Lib Dems finish 6th behind the BNP and an independent candidate.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12643639

Dan Jarvis (Lab) 14,724
Jane Collins (UKIP) 2,953
James Hockney (C) 1,999
Enis Dalton (BNP) 1,463
Tony Devoy (Ind) 1,266
Dominic Carman (LD) 1,012
Kevin Riddiough (Eng Dem) 544
Howling Laud Hope (Loony) 198
Michael Val Davies (Ind) 60

Lab maj 11,771: Turnout 36.5%