Lib Dem David Laws Suspended Over Expenses

Rasczak

Outstanding Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2002
Messages
27,709
Reaction score
10,519
Points
6,144
Location
Warwick
Well Parliament has ruled on the (Lib Dem) David Laws expenses scandal stating he was "guilty of a series of serious breaches of the rules, over a considerable time". The report stated he wrongly claimed expenses to pay rent for his partner, for building work and for telephone bills.

Mr Laws has apologised and said he just breached the rules on expenses to protect his privacy. The commissioner has recommended that he is suspended from the Commons for 7 days effective from the 7 June. This will need to be approved by MPs next week.

Personally I think it is all a little to incestuous - he has been found in breach of the rules having fiddled his expenses so he is banned from Parliament for a week - effectively a holiday some people might call it. If no criminal charges can be brought, in such cases, Laws should be dismissed from Parliament and a by-election called in which Laws could only stand if he had repaid all the money he wrongly claimed.
 
No, he should just be dismissed from Parliament fullstop, imo.

It's just a joke.
 
I have to say I think he could have been a good member of the cabinet. However, I think the phrase "he did not do it for personal gain!" is to be honest ********!

He has repaid over £50K in false/fraudulent expense claims all to protect the fact he is gay. I am sorry that is out of order... If he wanted to why did he have to claim such a high amount if I was not for personal gain.

It bugs me to think we the public are that stupid that we would lap that rubbish up and believe it. It may be a government in it's infancy but the age old legacy of spin/lies is very much there as always.
 
He's back...

Cameron & Clegg agree to welcome him back to the club.

Shafting the public purse obviously pays - this means of course they can all do it now and get away with it. Cameron & Clegg have approved the practice of fiddling expenses.
 
In any other walk of life fiddling your employer out of £50k+ would mean instant dismissal, and it should in this case.:lesson:

If he wanted to protect the fact he is gay (is homosexuality really something to be ashamed of these days? I think not), why claim at all? Not claiming for these expenses was an option open to him. And no-one would have found out if there had been no claim to investigate.

I thought he was quite good when I saw him speak on QT etc, but obviously he's not as bright as I thought.
 
At last some good news on this topic - Labour MP Thomas Docherty has asked Scotland Yard to mount a criminal investigation on Mr Laws expenses claims.

I appreciate we have a coalition Government and thus have to have some Lib Dems in Government. And I appreciate there is an urgent need to replace such low callibre individuals such as Cable and Huhne - but Parliaments feeble response to Laws' expenses outrage was clearly insufficient. I don't see why Laws should be above the law.
 
Someone asked a question, about David Laws return to government, on QT last night and apart from Blunkett everyone was praising Laws as a capable MP, his integrity, his need for privacy, hiding his homosexuality, blah blah blah.
Blunkett while praising him , did question why he claimed at all if he just wanted to preserve his privacy and is a millionaire.

One guy in the audience threw a curve ball at one of the panel O,brien, can't remember his first name, he's a presenter on LBC, he asked if he would be so forgiving if someone was doing something similar to Laws by fraudulently claiming housing benefit. O'Brien wasn't able to answer that question!
 
Blunkett while praising him , did question why he claimed at all if he just wanted to preserve his privacy and is a millionaire.

Yep, it's just a smokescreen for him being a totally greedy bastard, same as most of them, imo.

One guy in the audience threw a curve ball at one of the panel O,brien, can't remember his first name, he's a presenter on LBC, he asked if he would be so forgiving if someone was doing something similar to Laws by fraudulently claiming housing benefit. O'Brien wasn't able to answer that question!

Again yep.
The duplicity of some of these MPs is nothing short of astounding :mad:
We can't nick £70 a week, but they can nick £000's.

Still, when we can't even be arsed to change the way we elect people, nothing will change.
 
Unbelievable if it wasn't true!

Sacked and prosecuted like most would be is what should be happening.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that it was known to all that were interested that he was gay, apparently his boyfriend was very pretty causing much jealousy amongst other MP's.
 
I don't see how being gay is a get out of jail free card for this type of activity, if you were a hetrosexual MP claiming expenses for a mistresses flat for example you'd be taken to the cleaners over this. Just another greedy :censored: MP, my only consolation in this is that regardless of what's he's swindled, his cheapskate greed has hopefully cost him a decent job in government.

It's really one rule for MP's, one rule for the rest of us in society. Makes me sick, the people at the top should set a better example imo. It's no wonder most of the population have given up with politics altogether. I can't watch these :censored: anymore trading insults on QT or in parliament. Anyway rant over :)
 
my only consolation in this is that regardless of what's he's swindled, his cheapskate greed has hopefully cost him a decent job in government.
The really annoying thing is this doesn't seem to be the case. Both Conservative and Lib Dem MPs are singing his praises and want him back in Government. To them it is only a question of allowing enough time for 'Public sensitivities'. :suicide: Absolutely maddening.
 
Anyone watch HIGNFY when it was pointed out his boyfriend was charging him too much rent :D :rolleyes:
It bugs me to think we the public are that stupid that we would lap that rubbish up and believe it.
Are we though? I said at the time no one could care less if he is gay and the only people still trying to make it about his sexuality is David Laws and his coalition superiors via a propaganda campaign as it is convenient for them to do so. Politicians as a species maybe are quite inward and insular, the impression seemingly being given, but the general population does not care. Look at Graham Norton or Matt Lucas being popular entertainers. For a supposedly intelligent person, Laws has miscalculated badly
Both Conservative and Lib Dem MPs are singing his praises and want him back in Government. To them it is only a question of allowing enough time for 'Public sensitivities'. :suicide: Absolutely maddening.
Is the country so doomed without him? But one suspects without the coalition agreement the conservatives would happily be laying into the Lib Dems in PMQ's. Why would they not? This is what the Lib Dems have sunk to. Of course I never voted for them and so am entitled to smug arrogant superiority :D
 
Anyone watch HIGNFY when it was pointed out his boyfriend was charging him too much rent :D :rolleyes:
I quite enjoyed that HIGNFY - they made a good point about, if he really wanted to his relationship a secret and given he is a millionaire, why claim at all?

I said at the time no one could care less if he is gay and the only people still trying to make it about his sexuality is David Laws and his coalition superiors via a propaganda campaign as it is convenient for them to do so.
Agreed - I think the gay smoke-screen is being used as a shield to his expenses claims.

Is the country so doomed without him?
Well exactly. How many ministers are Government? 20 odd? If so you would have thought they would be able to pick from ones who hadn't cheated the UK taxpayer and been suspended for breaching the rules.
 
Is the country so doomed without him?

I don't think he's worth bringing back. What are they planning for him to do, become Osbourne's assistant essentially. They'd be better of hanging him out to dry along with the labour MP's.

The only thing I can think of is that there's perhaps a few more skeleton's in the closet that have not come out yet for other high profile MP's, could example why they are sticking together on this.
 
I quite enjoyed that HIGNFY - they made a good point about, if he really wanted to his relationship a secret and given he is a millionaire, why claim at all?

Another thing I've never understood, are parent's really that naive that they'd be in the dark about one of their kids sexuality. I've been single all my life, if I was homosexual I doubt I could keep that sort of thing a secret unless I quite literally had no form of contact with my parents or any siblings.
 
Exactly. No-one is saying he was prancing around like the Little Britain "only gay in the village" character, but if you want to keep something secret then don't write it down on an expenses claim that anyone could scrutinise!

Speaking personally it's bad enough to rip off tax payers, but don't insult our intelligence as well. He thought he could have his cake, the dignified thing to do would be to go quietly
 
I have ZERO sympathy.
I watched QY & HIGNFY, and if they can be believed, he was clearly claiming above the market rate, in breach of the rules, when he had no financial need to do so. IMO this amounts to theft - no more no less. Worse than that, he stole from US - you and me and all the other tax-payers. I just can't see any excuse to justify this.
As for his sexuality? Completely irrelevant. My daughter came out 2 years ago. Do I care? No. Does ANYONE care? No.

Rant over. It is, however, more than a little intriguing how keen the other politicians seem to be to get him back in "the fold".
 
I have ZERO sympathy.
I watched QY & HIGNFY, and if they can be believed, he was clearly claiming above the market rate, in breach of the rules, when he had no financial need to do so. IMO this amounts to theft - no more no less. Worse than that, he stole from US - you and me and all the other tax-payers. I just can't see any excuse to justify this.
As for his sexuality? Completely irrelevant. My daughter came out 2 years ago. Do I care? No. Does ANYONE care? No.

Rant over. It is, however, more than a little intriguing how keen the other politicians seem to be to get him back in "the fold".

I agree.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom