Hell Breaks Loose

I've been here for over a month, and in that time I have learned my way around so much of London, picked up all the needed vocabulary and not sound appalingly "touristy," but despite working in govenment here it's taken longer to comprehend just what is going on in British politics now.

Take a look at the following headlines from this morning's Telegraph, the newspaper that's been leading the charge on the MPs expenses scandal:

"Labour suffers humiliating election defeat"

"Hangdog Prime Minister looks like he's had his day"

"Gordon Brown looked worse than ever at his press conference: exhausted, isolated and nearing the end of his tether"

"[Brown] pushed to the brink by resignations, expenses and calls to quit"

"How much more proof of his utter unsuitabiltiy to lead a party of a government does Mr Brown need?"

Put simply, the London rags make American media look like journalism at its best, and we know that's hardly true. But instead of dwelling on that, let's dig in a little bit and think about what the biggest issues are in Great Britain and the subsequent actions taken by the media and the voting public.

The Situation: 

The economy is and has been in crisis for some time, although recent indications show that relief may be on its way. Britain is plagued by the issue of knife crime, a serious issue that undercuts the ability of the Government to maintain the best public safety. Labour popularity is at its very lowest levels and Gordon Brown, although most certainly not abdicating his post anytime soon, is facing a growing wall of opposition. Finally, after weeks of newspaper revelations detailing MP's expenses, the rules for members of the government need to be reformed.

The Media & the Public:

Instead of presurring PM Brown to do more on the economy or criticise the proposals he's made in the past weeks, the British media has devoted no less than 80% of its attention to MP's expenses scandal (to the tune of 15 page spreads every morning for two weeks—I struggle to remember the last time the American media has had the attention span to run the same story repeatedly like that). Lead by the Telegraph, media coverage of expenses runs much more like McCarthyistic witchhunting than true investigative journalism. Media ethics have flown out the window as junior reporters usually assigned to celeb columns or minor features are asked to pull together a feature on specific evidence of "government corruption" and, their appetite whetted for a big story, so-called reporters publish private addresses and misinterpret the crucial details of expenses files.

Faced with constituents calling for their heads and outlandish media reports attacking their ethics and ability to represent the voting public, many MP's and ministers have been forced to step down from important posts or resign come the next election.

Which brings me to the wide gap between what is happening and what should be happening.

MP's that have broken the rules (bear in mind that MP's are allowed to expense many of the things they claim for, and when they sought approval from the Parliamentary Pay office most of their claims were approved) and flagrantly cheated the system should be asked to step down, and if they refuse, sacked by Gordon Brown.

Instead of learning from their mistakes and being forced to face tougher, more vigilant constituents, the voting public will vote out of office hundreds of Labour MP's in favor of Conservatives or Liberal Democrats and then forget about the expenses scandal and the reasons that wanted "change" in the first place. These news MP's will have tremendous leway to do whatever they place, and once the public has forgotten about the expenses scandal, the same practices that people complain about now will begin again, only this time (likely) under the Tory Government of David Cameron.

Borrowing the failed aspects of the American "democracy first" system where those who have done wrong are sacked symbolically while the underlying problems continue without reform, the British public are thirsty for blood and blinded by their right to voice discontent with a vote that's much harmful to the public good than any expenses claim.