MPs' Greed Costs Country A Fortune

Taxpayers are being forced to fork out £6.5m on an unelected quango because fiddling MPs cannot be trusted to keep checks on their expenses. Parliament is set to play second fiddle to an army of quangocrats and cronies. MPs' greed is costing the country and democracy a fortune.

Keeping a check on MPs' expenses has become an expensive habit.

MPs have been ordered to repay £1.12m following Legg's audit which itself cost £1.16m - including a reported £142,000 for Legg himself.

That's on top of the reported £400,000 for the Kelly inquiry from the standards watchdog, set to be watered down in Ispa quangoland.

The Ipsa quango is set to cost £6.5m and employ a whopping 80 staff, according to figures reported by the BBC. Everything from 'policy' to 'communications' is under 'watchdog' head Kennedy, set to earn more than MPs themselves.

Hired New Labour cronies will pay lip-service to transparency but will be among the best paid in the public sector, according to documents leaked to the Telegraph.

The Orange Party was among many who sounded a warning bell when the idea of yet another quango was first mooted in June of last year. Just how will these cronies be selected and at what cost to the taxpayer? How can the public be sure they will stay corruption-free?

At a stroke the expensive MPs' expenses quango will sweep away centuries of constitutional tradition at the centre of the democratic process.

MPs will be answerable to unelected bureaucrats not the electorate. Parliamentary democracy is being torn to shreds. At the heart lies the vexed question: who will guard the guardians in Brown's Big Brother House?

Martin repeats the warning today on his WSJ blog: Who watches the new parliamentary watchdog?

It's a sad indictment of democracy, when MPs cannot be trusted. The checks and balances were already firmly in place but no-one took a blind bit of notice.

Now MPs, once answerable the electorate, face the soothing music of an unelected bunch of over-paid bureaucrats. A complete reverse of the way this country is supposed to be governed and not the way to rebuild trust.

Harman's quango bill moved the constitutional ship of state into unchartered waters. The government found a neat way of side-stepping responsibility and accountability for its shabby handling of the sordid expenses saga.

And to add insult to injury, as Oborne pointed out, "This new Bill will be voted on by a House riddled with expenses cheats which has just elected a tax-dodger as Speaker."

The Orange Party fears for the future of democracy which is paying a high price for MPs' greed and Bottling Brown's stubborn refusal to hold a general election.

In a democracy, the electorate is the best regulator. Only a general election can begin to restore public trust in politics and politicians. Voters are chomping at the bit, denied the chance and treated with contempt. Parliament and democracy is being reduced to the sinister farce of quangoland.

Once again when ministers get themselves into a mess they dig themselves into a deeper hole, wriggling around with another unaccountable and unelected quango to get themselves off the hook.

But scratch away at the surface and a rotten underbelly is exposed, threatening the cornerstone of constitutional democracy and parliamentary sovereignty.

Handing over vast power at vast expense to a bunch of political elitists who are not accountable to the electorate is not the way to rebuild trust in politics or politicians. Revenge will be a dish best served out of a cold ballot box.

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Sats Whitewash Lets Balls Off Hook

Ministers have been let off the hook over the Sats shambles with a widely-leaked whitewash which laid the blame squarely on the shoulders of the government quangos and contractor. Nowhere did the report answer a simple question - what was Ed Balls doing while the Sats fiasco was falling around his ears? 

As expected and highlighted by the Orange Party here, the Sutherland report, out today, blamed the exam watchdog QCA and private contractor ETS Europe, under a tight remit drawn up by the school's secretary, Ed Balls, craftily crafted to get him off the hook. 

As Balls apologised to schools and families for "all their inconvenience, stress and frustration", questions still need to be asked over how on earth ministers could sit back and let this all happen, when teachers and markers were shouting from the rooftops that something was amiss. 

The 178 page Sutherland report is full of strong criticism of government quangos. 

The QCA watchdog "failed its remit". Pupils, parents, schools and markers were "badly let down". The impact had been "massive". There had been a culture within the QCA and its National Assessment Agency (NAA) that "it'll be all right on the night". It has not delivered and there have been "massive failures."

And the report blames ETS Europe and its "insufficient" capacity to deliver the tests with a "lack of comprehensive planning and testing" of the systems used for the tests.

Not a word about the government. Setting up government quangos and then watching them implode at arms length is irresponsible. But ministers have found a neat device to hide behind, saying they know nothing and it's all down to their own complacent quangos. 

Teachers were telling the secretary of state there were problems long before the marking stage. 

The Tories want answers: “Ken Boston has pointed out that ministers were closely involved at every stage of the process. They cannot escape their role in the fiasco by claiming, as Ed Balls has done, that they were at 'arms length' from this disaster."

The LibDems also called for ministers to accept responsibility: "Ministers themselves should also accept some blame for their complacent attitude to the delivery of the tests. It is clear that they were asleep at the wheel."

But Downing Street spinners have managed to work their warped magic and control the fall out from the summer Sats fiasco, shifting the blame away from the school's secretary. 

Most ministers are elected MPs and that makes them both accountable and responsible to parliament and the electorate. 

Political voices from both ends of the spectrum speak with one voice but in vain if they expect Brown's trusty lieutenant to hold up his hands over this latest cock-up. As with the Baby P scandal, saying sorry isn't good enough.

6pm UPDATE: Balls has said he's sorry again, telling the commons he blames ETS and QCA and, er, that's it. 

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Blame Balls For Sats Shambles

The government is trying to control the fall out from the summer Sats fiasco and shift the blame away from school's secretary, Ed Balls, who should shoulder responsibility for the shambles. 

With some crafty footwork and shifty spin, the children's secretary managed to wriggle out of any responsibility for the Baby P scandal. Now Brown's trusty lieutenant looks set to do it again.

The Sats shambles is just the latest in a whole series of government cock-ups over big IT projects awarded to their pals in the IT industry. It's costing the country billions of pounds and countless suffering to people. 

But ministers have found a neat little device to hide behind, saying they know nothing and it's all down to their own complacent quangos.

The carefully leaked outcome of the Sutherland inquiry has been quick to point the finger at US-based contractor ETS Europe and the head of the exams quango, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).

Time and again the Orange Party has called into question the role of government ministers in this whole affair, pointing out that a government minister must have signed off the £156m five-year contract and with that responsibility comes accountability. 

That view is shared today by both the Tories and the LibDems.

Warning bells were sounded months before the government finally got round to scrapping the ETS contract and with it tests for 14 year olds. 

But the Sutherland inquiry can only examine what it was set up to examine. It was carefully framed to avoid any remit which would question why the contract was awarded in the first place to a US company with a poor track record and the government's failed testing policies.

Hundreds of thousands of pupils' test results were delayed, this year's league tables were postponed and half of the tests were scrapped.

The government must now face questions over its role in the debacle as they were repeatedly warned something was wrong. 

However much Balls and ministers try to wriggle out of it, the government used taxpayers cash to sign a multi-million-pound contract with a firm with such an appalling track record. Ministers have a duty to make sure that cash is spent wisely and efficiently.

Head teachers, teachers and markers had been warning of problems since the spring. MPs were told the tests had become a "shambles" long before the results date in July.

Balls is not the only one who should shoulder responsibility. There are other legacy ministers involved in the fiasco and the inquiry needed to examine the role of all of them, including the chairman of the QCA and head of the QCA’s testing arm, the National Assessment Agency.

But so far QCA chief, Ken Boston, is the only head to roll in this appalling affair.

Ministers must bear direct responsibility for signing up with a firm that let down children and teachers so badly. 

The sheer arrogance of a government minister, who can hide behind weak excuses while the fiasco unfolded, leaving parents and youngsters frantic with worry, is quite beyond belief.

These get-out clauses used by ministers for big IT projects are a scandal. Ministers are accountable and responsible. And if they don't like that, or they preside over a cock-up, they should quit the job.

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Heathrow Expansion Just Got Easier

A third runway at Heathrow is back on the cards, after MPs voted for a new unelected and unaccountable quango to push through the expansion plans and New Labour's other pet projects. 

MPs finally had a chance yesterday to vote on whether they wanted to replace accountable public inquiries, with an unelected Planning Commission. 

In the end, just 17 True Labour MPs had the courage and sense to vote against the Bill - they at least can hold their heads up high. 

The Planning Bill had been delayed twice and was rewritten with a few concessions to try to push it through. 

The result was a watered down Bill making the new Planning Commission just a bit more accountable. 

But the idea still is to scrap lengthy and accountable public enquires for massive building projects ranging from nuclear power stations, wind farms and incinerators, airports, new towns, roads and reservoirs. In fact anything that could be unpopular. 

Even with the concessions, the new Commission is just a smoke-screen to fast-track the developments and by-pass the planning process in quangoland.

Brown faced a parliamentary revolt, with this new Planning Commission coming under fire from MPs outraged at yet another hugely expensive, unaccountable and unelected bureaucratic quango.

The back-bench revolt from his own party was stronger than ever and even the cabinet was split on the issue. 

But in the end, the wheeling and dealing over concessions saved Brown's skin, again.

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Planning A Bad Brown Day?

With a mixture of smug arrogance and self-destruction, Brown and his New Labour clique are set to face down the country again, this time over planning. 

A watered-down plan for another huge, expensive quango to push through their pet projects is on the cards, as MPs finally have a chance to vote today on whether they want to replace accountable public inquiries, with an unelected Planning Commission. 

The Planning Bill has been delayed twice and could easily have been put on the back-burner. Instead it has been rewritten with concessions to try to push it through.

Brown faces a parliamentary revolt, with this new Planning Commission coming under fire from MPs, outraged at yet another hugely expensive, unaccountable and unelected bureaucratic quango.

This would cover massive building projects ranging from nuclear power stations, wind farms and incinerators, airports, new towns, roads and reservoirs. In fact anything that's unpopular. Stuffed with New Labour cronies on fat salaries, it's just a smoke-screen to fast-track the developments and by-pass the planning process.

Unlike their muddled thinking on the EU Treaty, the Lib Dems, this time, are set against. And, unlike 42 Days Detention, Brown can't bribe Northern Ireland's DUP. This time he cannot rely on pork-barrel politics.

The back bench revolt from his own party was stronger than ever and even the Cabinet was split on the issue. But maybe the concessions will save Brown's skin, again.

But if the vote still goes pear-shaped, Brown has only himself to blame. It only takes around 35 or so True Labour MPs to make a difference. 

It all should have been plain sailing for Brown until September's Labour Party conference. It's almost as if his advisers and New Labour cronies want a defeat - to force his hand.

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Eco-Lies, Deceit And Spin

The lies, deceit and spin of Brown's government is set to be exposed this week showing the pathetic way they have tried to pull the wool over our eyes with so-called 'eco-towns' and ride rough-shod over democracy with the trickery of new planning laws aimed at pushing through pet projects. 

An official government report has warned today that many of the 'eco-town' schemes are just big housing estates with an eco-friendly 'green' label stuck in front.

And Brown faces a parliamentary revolt on Wednesday, when government plans for a new Planning Commission, which has split the cabinet, will come under fire from MPs outraged at plans for another hugely expensive, unaccountable and unelected bureaucratic quango.

With the Party's finances in meltdown, New Labour needs sweeteners for its dwindling backers and donors - the big housing developers and supermarkets. And 'eco-towns' are a perfect way for them to make money.

'Eco-towns', one of Brown's original Big Ideas, have been exposed as a sham, a sneaky way of just building thousands of new houses in rural areas and  branded as 'eco-towns' as part of the spin. In the face of a huge and growing backlash, a short list of 57 was whittled down to 15, then 10 and now reportedly just five. 

These massive housing developments would be outside the structure plan of local authorities so one of the key proposals of the new planning laws is replacing accountable public inquiries, with an unelected Planning Commission, stuffed with New Labour cronies on fat salaries. A cunning plan to fast-track the developments and by-pass the planning process.

This would cover massive building projects ranging from nuclear power stations, wind farms and incinerators, airports, new towns, roads and reservoirs. In fact anything that's unpopular.

Files on cabinet minister, Hazel Blears' missing laptop, "also contained information that shows cabinet members disagree over the government's proposed planning laws."

The proposals were due to be discussed by MPs in parliament two weeks ago but with the increasing chance of a defeat for Brown, quietly shelved for a rethink. 

Faced with stiff opposition from Conservatives, LibDems and back-bench Labour MPs and the reported cabinet split on the issue, it now looks as if Brown will not be able to carry even some of the New Labour faithful.

Protesters against the discredited 'eco-towns' are due to lobby MPs at Westminster at the end of the month.

And with the 'eco-town' backlash led by the New Labour luvvies of the Media Classes, living in their pretty villages, these NIMBYs give the protesters a powerful and articulate voice. 

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Cabinet Split Over Planning Quango

Buried deep in Blears' missing laptop and buried in a BBC report on the alleged theft, was a file giving just a small glimmer of hope to the growing campaign against the ridiculous expansion of Heathrow airport and Brown's 'eco-towns' con. 

According to the BBC, the laptop files, "also contained information that shows cabinet members disagree over the government's proposed planning laws."

Those 'proposed planning laws' are New Labour's cunning plan to by-pass the planning process with a new expensive, unelected and unaccountable planning quango.

This latest bureaucratic quango would be stuffed with New Labour cronies on fat salaries whose brief is to fast-track and nod-through pet projects. 

The proposed new planning law was due to be discussed by MPs in parliament only last week but with the increasing chance of a defeat for Brown, it was quietly shelved for the time being. 

Faced with stiff opposition from Conservatives, LibDems and back-bench Labour MPs, this didn't stand a change of getting through parliament. With the reported cabinet split on the issue, it now looks as if Brown couldn't even carry some of the New Labour faithful.

Heathrow expansion, has been exposed as just a money-making wheeze for big business, a disaster for the people who have to live nearby and it doesn't stand a chance of getting past tough new EU air quality rules. 

'Eco-towns', one of Brown's Big Ideas, have been exposed as a sham, a sneaky way of just building thousands of new houses in rural areas and  branded as 'eco-towns' as part of the spin. In the face of a huge and growing backlash, a short list of 57 was whittled down to 15, then 10.

One of the key proposals of the new planning laws is replacing accountable public inquiries with an unelected planning commission. 

This would cover massive building projects ranging from nuclear power stations, wind farms and incinerators, airports, new towns, roads and reservoirs. In fact anything that's unpopular.

But without a fast-track to ignore the planning process, these schemes could be on the back-burner for a while.

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