BY ANGIE DANIELS
Lord Sewell has resigned from Parliament following his disgraceful transgression of snorting Cocaine, atop the alarming imprudence on his part in permitting his shameful act to be filmed. A man credited with the honourable role of being a UK representative to the Nato Parliamentary Assembly, also a former Lecturer at Aberdeen University, lacked the common sense to conduct himself with dignity. What a terrible role model he is!
Don’t criticise the 69 year old flop too much though, he has only proved his humanity. He may be called Lord, but he is only a man and certainly not fit for the title of Lord. Once again, the sanctimonious political haven is punctured yet again! The British government, one of the most stable institutions in the globe, thrives on scandals. There’s never a coup d’état, no assassinations, no massive fraud, only widespread parliamentary expenses, malpractices, which in 2009 made the nation gasp in shock. A string of other parliamentary faux pas included Cash for Peerages, Cash for Access, Cash for Lobbying, Cash for Amendments, Cash for questions, and so on…and so on, down the years, beyond Lord Profumo in 1963.
In 1994 it emerged that two members of the Conservative Party were alleged to have agreed to submit questions to Parliament in exchange for money. That scandal which became known as Cash for questions over-clouded the last years of John Major’s administration. That scandal led John Major to set up the Committee on Standards in Public Life, under Lord Nolan, its first Chairman. It was to address wider issues of declining standards among parliamentarians and general public life.
Later events have proved this not to be a sufficient deterrent. Nothing will be. Not the loss of job, not the police, not incarceration on top of it all. Human nature gets excitement from breaking rules, parliamentarians included. Ironically, Lord Sewell of Gilcomstoun, a Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords, a life peer and former academic until his sudden resignation, was the Chairman of the Lords’ Privileges and Conduct Committee. What hope is there?
The Labour peer, honoured with overseeing standards was filmed allegedly snorting cocaine with two prostitutes at his flat, in central London. His resignation is most welcome, and the Prime Minister, David Cameron, has today expressed his satisfaction that the dishonourable peer has ”absented himself” from his post. At one point in the footage, the disgraced peer flipped the framed photograph of his wife Jennifer, face down before starting to strip and play a series of sex games with the prostitutes. He was quoted as saying to the women that he wanted to be led astray. The chairman for good conduct wanted to be led astray – and also lead us all astray! No shame, no morals
The man was being himself. Politician. ‘Party animal,’ as one of the prostitutes called him. He had the cheek to expose her to serious health risk. Now she knows, his children know, everybody knows.
SAMPLE OF SOCIETY
Let’s face it. Our leaders represent us. They are a sample of our society, people from among us. Hypocrisy is not exactly that far from each of us, is it? Perhaps we would not cheat on our partner, do petty thieving, if we were in Parliament. Sometimes people act as if fraud and corruption only happen elsewhere –Countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America. The difference, of course, is that in some of those faraway places, when they steal, they take the whole lot, they don’t bat an eye. They can do it because the system is deliberately left loose. They normalise sexual misdemeanour’s, there’s no pretence.
But, thank God for the way it is here in great Britain, the expectations on our leaders remain high. Part of what makes Britain great, right? Even if the rest of us can’t do it, our leaders are expected to be beacons, or they should not go up there. In this country, bad conduct of politicians will always make headlines when they happen. Deterrents can’t be fool proof. Misconduct among politicians will not cease. They will lose their jobs and may even be prosecuted. The society seems to need the sensation. Politics could otherwise be boring! The one ting that ostensibly makes politics exciting is when those at the top are proven to be unfit for the post they hold. It makes one wonder if how many others snort Cocaine off the breasts of prostitutes but are simply not as foolish as this man to have it filmed. Perhaps many even commit such reprehensible acts to curry the favour of influential people who can help get them to the position where they are.
When eye of media contacted the House of Parliament, they said they had no further comments to make. The one comment we have to make is this; get your house in order, big boys!
