"You Are the Decent People"11 April 2008

Martin Bell OBE defends true democracy in his campaign against sleazy politicians

Almost a hundred people filled the United Reformed Church hall in Walton last night to hear anti-sleaze campaigner and Ambassador for UNICEF Martin Bell OBE give an entertaining and shockingly honest account of his experiences as an 'accidental MP.' Overturning a huge majority in one of England's safest Conservative seats after the sleazy Hamilton revelations added to the woes of John Major's Conservatives, Mr. Bell hoped that his resounding election on a ticket of public trust would send a signal to politicians to clean their House. His hopes were short-lived: a semi-independent commissioner for standards in public life was appointed, but things have continued to deteriorate.

Political corruption here less than in Congo, but…

Though not on the scale of the Congo, there is considerable corruption in public life, said Mr. Bell who had himself witnessed another MP trade his vote for a peerage. The sale of honours is nothing new, having lately regained the proportions of Lloyd George's times. In recent months the Derek Conway affair (Con. Bexley and Sidcup) let loose a landslide of revelations about malpractice among MPs. Corruption, said Mr. Bell, is widespread and endemic among politicians. At a local level, it happens in the planning process. He had discovered in a nearby constituency that a local Conservative MP was on the board of a firm of developers. This was by no means the only instance of that kind.

Take the money and obey the Whip

As a reporter for the BBC, and now in his travels for UNICEF - latterly to Afghanistan - the Man in the White Suit said he had seen the best of British in our armed forces. Yet in the House of Commons he had seen 'something else altogether.' The days had gone where Ministers and Junior Ministers had acquired experience in the Armed Forces or elsewhere in real life. These days they were as like to be recent graduates with 'connections', who secure political positions within a matter of years without having done anything in the world. Their lack of experience and independent thought mean they are all the more biddable by Party Whips. Why should such politicians enjoy privileges at the taxpayer's expense that nobody else does?

Martin Bell with young reporters from local newspapers. He exhorted them to be fearless and hold councillors to account: local newspapers were 'sometimes too nice' to local authorities

Politicians, said Mr. Bell, seem almost to take satisfaction from defying the will of the people, including those who elected them. There is a huge gap between government and the governed. The present Labour Government has a huge majority in the House but was elected by only 22 per cent of the country's voters. The national parties are now shells, husks of what they used to be. The people see their elected representatives failing to represent them. Suffering from the rise of the 'political class,' people are weary and put off by the national political parties. Young people are interested in issues, particularly environmental issues, but ask: "What can we do?"

Local government a 'climbing frame' for politicians

Mr. Bell believed that we take our freedoms too much for granted and must exercise and defend them. "Good things happen because people make them happen. Bad things happen because people let them happen." The fightback starts at a local level. The national parties "use local government as a climbing frame" but "there are still a lot of decent people in local government. Throughout the country there are around two thousand independent councillors", said Mr. Bell, "and independents aren't in it for what they can get out of it. They're in it for better reasons. You are the League of Decent People, the people's non-party. You represent the people to an extent the political parties never can. Every vote you get, you win."

Comment