Are MPs above the law?
As the days tick on, the level of arrogance pouring forth from the Palace of Westminster rises to an astonishing level. Or not. For if there is one thing we have come to expect from members of parliament it is selfish arrogance. This has all been triggered by the Metropolitan Police investigation into policy leaks at the Home Office. A young solicitor, unable to get a job with the Tory Party directly, got a job with the Home Office instead so he could pass confidential (not classified) information to the Tory MP Damien Green. At the face of it, it is not altogether certain whether any laws have been broken or whether this is simply a case of someone basically being an underhanded little rat. However, the head civil servant at the Home Office decided that the police should investigate. The consequence of that is that the police “raided” the offices of Damien Green. Actually, the walked in politely with a warrant, arrested the MP for questioning and carefully searched the office.
We have to decide what is the meaning of democracy as required by the people of the UK. A democracy succeeds or fails on the basis of how it works law and order into society. The idea being that a justice system protects the rights, safety and lifestyle of the population by enforcing the rule of law onto those that would disrupt any of those. It does not add, “Except MPs.”
So, what is an MP, and why are they NOT different? An MP is an elected representative of his or her local population who is paid a fat salary and a ton of expenses to ensure that those local people are properly represented in parliament. Some MPs serve their constituents by working in higher office, ministerial for instance, and working on national policy that will also benefit their local community. It is a job, a moderately important one, and one that needs to be done. But it is just a job. There is no “us and them,” MPs do not have a separate justice system for them alone, and nor should they. They just do a different job than I do. End of story.
So why is it that MPs, even many of the ones who we think take our representation seriously, get very selfish and arrogant at the merest hint that they may have to suffer the same rule of law as the rest of us or have to actually pay for something themselves? Over many years, it has become almost a tradition to believe that to do their job properly, MPs must be given a certain amount of latitude. This means they are allowed to lie, distort the truth, misrepresent facts, leak important information, buy massive colour televisions, travel first class, in fact anything and everything that the rest of us find morally repugnant. This arrogant assumption has support form all sides of the house, from MPs of all backgrounds.
On a slightly more legitimate note, MPs complain that communication between them and their constituents (us) is confidential, and that they are unhappy with police having access to this material. Although I understand this worry on the face of it, I also think that it also fails to hold water when put under closer scrutiny. If your doctor is being investigated for something, where the investigation may include patient notes, the police under court order have perfect right to search those notes. Likewise they can investigate solicitors and accountants. They have to treat any material with great care and no material may be used in court that does not have a direct relevance. But they are not prevented from investigating a Doctor, Lawyer or even a priest, simply because of any records they may keep. Indeed, it could be argued that the most sensitive records about anyone are held by the police in the first place. And remember, MPs are not bound by the same oath as a Catholic Priest – if you tell an MP you have committed a crime, they are duty-bound to tell the police. So, it is a bit of a vague sort of confidentiality this.
Back to today, and the state opening of Parliament. In the debate later the speaker Michael Martin is expected to give a statement about why his Sargeant in Arms allowed the police to enter parliament in the first place, and senior opposition MPs including Menzes Campbell and Ken Clerk are expected to make protest.
Will they be doign our will in this action? No, they will be doing theres. This is one of those points in our democracy where the gulf between those who are meant to run the democracy and those who should benefit (and pay for it) gets even wider.
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