Wednesday 20 May 2009

INTEGRITY

integrityTHIS IS THE BLOG OF COLIN JONES, RHYL TOWN COUNCILLOR: BODFOR WARD
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The opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own and not the views of the town council.
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As an unpaid town councillor I can sit back and enjoy as much as anyone else the spectacle of MPs being roasted over their expenses. The novelty of the story is wearing a bit thin, though.

Some years ago an independent report recommended a big salary increase for MPs to bring them in line with other European countries. The government of the day felt that this would be unpopular with the public and so the House of Commons devised its own generous expenses system instead.

Most of the recent headlines are about claims that were made legitimately within the system but that does not let MPs off the hook. I would say to them: Integrity doesn’t mean playing by the rules. Integrity means refusing to go along with ideas that seem morally unjustifiable.

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