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David Laws - corrupt hypocrite?

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Comments

  • BACKFRMTHEEDGE
    BACKFRMTHEEDGE Posts: 1,294 Forumite
    Wookster wrote: »
    I think this is a real tragedy and the loss of someone of real integrity at a time when the government really needs gifted people.

    Real integrity? He was fiddling his expenses and lying about his private life! He has no integrity.

    This government has shown in 3 weeks that it is a coalition of idiots, much as many suspected.

    They will tank the economy by christmas because they have already scared the heck out of all and sundry with their ineptness!

    The row over the CGT is doing so much harm that I can only pray that this bunch of incompetents are gone very very soon...
    A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

    Savings For Kids 1st Jan 2019 £16,112
  • Lost2
    Lost2 Posts: 15,633 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    All 3 party's are corrupt
    Sealed Pot Number 018 🎄2009..£950.50 🎄2010..£256 🎄 2011..£526 🎄2012..£548.80 🎄2013...£758.88🎄2014...£510 🎄2015...£604.78 🎄2016...£704.50 🎄2017...£475 🎄2018...£1979.12 🎄2019...£408.88🎄2020...£1200.63...🎄2021…£588 🎄2022 £672… 🎄2023 £3,783.90 🎄2024…£3,882.57🎄2025
  • zppp
    zppp Posts: 2,476 Forumite
    Real integrity? He was fiddling his expenses and lying about his private life! He has no integrity.

    His private life is private so how was he lying?

    By the way I don't like the Con-Dem alliance either.
    Best Regards

    zppp :)

  • Jennifer_Jane
    Jennifer_Jane Posts: 3,237 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    zppp wrote: »
    His private life is private so how was he lying?

    By the way I don't like the Con-Dem alliance either.

    He was lying because he didn't tell the Parliamentary office (forgotten the correct name) that the rent he was paying was to a partner, which is contrary to the rules. The rules are there to avoid abuse. He may well have done this deliberately to enable his partner to benefit via the taxpayer.

    I feel for him, but to be totally objective, we don't actually know - and never will know - whether the fact that he wanted to keep his sexuality secret is just an excuse. If the partner had been female everyone would be assuming that he was trying to make his partner richer via the taxpayer, rather than a sensitive soul who wanted his private life to be private.

    Don't forget that he disobeyed this rule and he retained a mortgage to enable the partner to buy a property, apart from the previous expense excesses.

    I think that his sexuality is private, but then please obey the rules. Easy!
  • drc
    drc Posts: 2,057 Forumite
    ash28 wrote: »
    Your first point is the same as my initial thoughts about it. It seems to be one rule for him and one for the rest of the proles.

    He had 3 options

    1. Hide the relationship, claim nothing and pay his share of the expenses out of his own pocket.

    2. Be open about it - make it a joint mortgage and claim (legitmately) probably more money than he has already claimed.

    3. Hide the relationship and claim money for renting a room

    He chose option 3, which shows some quite poor judgement IMHO, it's not the money, though in my book £40k is a lot of money, it's the intent to deceive, for whatever reason. Dishonest, on the fiddle, what ever you want to call it.

    It was against the rules and he knew it was against the rules however he tries to justify it now.

    Should he go? TBH, I'm not sure, he's seems to be a competent politician and there seem to be few of those around. Morally, he probably should.

    What is strange is that his decision no.3 implies that he was more ashamed/worried about being found out to be gay than he was about defrauding the taxpayer. Not sure what that says about a) attitudes to homosexuality in this country and b) attitudes to theft in this country.
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 49,930 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    drc wrote: »
    What is strange is that his decision no.3 implies that he was more ashamed/worried about being found out to be gay than he was about defrauding the taxpayer. Not sure what that says about a) attitudes to homosexuality in this country and b) attitudes to theft in this country.

    Due to what he perceives as attitudes to homosexuality in this country he hid the relationship and claimed less money than if he had declared his partner and claimed the higher amount for a second home allowance to which he would have been entitled.

    Still a strange decision, better to have claimed nothing, but maybe there was encouragement to all MPs to claim their entitlement or it would have looked worse for those that did.
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  • tomterm8
    tomterm8 Posts: 5,892 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    edited 30 May 2010 at 4:07PM
    He may well have done this deliberately to enable his partner to benefit via the taxpayer.

    Here's the thing: if he had declared the fact his 'partner' as a partner*, he would have been entitled to the full rent of the house, rather than just a share. Just like a married MP. So he could have claimed substantially more money.

    * the truth is, in the absence of a trial he is entitled to the benefit of the doubt as to whether he thought the relationship was as a partner or not; it is more complex than the equation sleeping together + living together = partner for legal purposes.
    drc wrote: »
    What is strange is that his decision no.3 implies that he was more ashamed/worried about being found out to be gay than he was about defrauding the taxpayer.

    Well, there are very good reasons for not disclosing that you are gay in this country. I've seen gay men shouted at and screamed at in the street. And my own cousin had her house broken into and wrecked with gay hate slogans written on the wall in something disgusing. People who say the UK is tolerant are idiots. In large parts of the UK, you can still be assaulted, abused. or even killed for being gay.
    “The ideas of debtor and creditor as to what constitutes a good time never coincide.”
    ― P.G. Wodehouse, Love Among the Chickens
  • amcluesent
    amcluesent Posts: 9,425 Forumite
    >his decision no.3 implies that he was more ashamed/worried about being found out to be gay<

    He was educated in a Roman Catholic school in an era when homosexualists could expect to be damned and spend all eternity in the searing fires of Beelzebub.
  • lynzpower
    lynzpower Posts: 25,311 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Wookster wrote: »
    If you insist on this then you will only get those who are so thick skinned they don't really care if their private lives are splashed over the papers (remember Blair/ Blears/ lord levy).

    I think this is a real tragedy and the loss of someone of real integrity at a time when the government really needs gifted people.

    I wholly agree.

    However, he could have opened his chequebook on the same day that Blears did and buried the bad news, would have got away with it in terms of "I wasnt sure of the rules" like others have done and been forgiven for it.

    He would have been more respected had he done this.

    He should have had the where-with-all to know it would come back and bite him on the rear end.

    http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/new-homes/property-30071612.html brand new one bed for 235k in SE11. ( As "Phil" would say, i think theres a deal to be done)

    I personally do think that it takes the pi55 when coming out with statements like " couples live apart or lie about where they live to maximise benefit income" Im sure he wasnt referring to himself there more citizens at the bottom of the food chain...

    IM sure there are some out there, but if you are happy to do the same yourself then......

    I agree this gay thing is a red-herring, Liberal democrats have been very open about homosexuality and rightly so.
    :beer: Well aint funny how its the little things in life that mean the most? Not where you live, the car you drive or the price tag on your clothes.
    Theres no dollar sign on piece of mind
    This Ive come to know...
    So if you agree have a drink with me, raise your glasses for a toast :beer:
  • lynzpower
    lynzpower Posts: 25,311 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I feel for him, but to be totally objective, we don't actually know - and never will know - whether the fact that he wanted to keep his sexuality secret is just an excuse. If the partner had been female everyone would be assuming that he was trying to make his partner richer via the taxpayer, rather than a sensitive soul who wanted his private life to be private.

    Interestingly, as we well know, renting a house/ flat/ room off a family member when claiming LHA is fraught with issues, and is certainly not a given, in case , for the reasons you write.
    :beer: Well aint funny how its the little things in life that mean the most? Not where you live, the car you drive or the price tag on your clothes.
    Theres no dollar sign on piece of mind
    This Ive come to know...
    So if you agree have a drink with me, raise your glasses for a toast :beer:
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