This newspaper’s expenses revelations triggered the most devastating parliamentary convulsion since the English Civil War. The episode was a horrible scandal. But it didn’t happen just because of human greed and weakness. It was also a product of systemic failure.
The highest elected authority in the land didn’t apply to itself the standard it imposes on others. The door of a safe full of public money was left open – and some MPs simply helped themselves.
This institutional failure happened for a reason. For at least a century, the powers of the Commons have waned while those of government have waxed. Ministers have seized control of the legislature – dictating its programme and timetable. The Commons simply lost control of itself. If MPs wouldn’t take responsibility for their own business, is it surprising that they wouldn’t do so for their expenses, either?
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