Conway must go for democracy’s sake

It’s all too easy to say it was bad record keeping or a mistake. With the privilege an MP enjoys comes the consequence of needing to be beyond reproach. No ifs, no buts as they say on the benefit fraud advert, you get it that wrong, you go.

Whilst some Tories are rushing around making excuses for Mr Conway’s position and saying what a great MP he is, David Cameron did take action by removing the Whip. The fact that some others were offering their support to Mr Conway embarrasses me and makes me question how ‘connected’ with real life those MPs really are.

I’m tired of his ‘colleagues’ being asked if he should resign the Seat and simply saying “it is up to Mr Conway”. Those who say that risk further alienating normal people in this country and, yet again, devaluing our democratic system. Whatever the details of Mr Conway’s debacle, the perception for the people that matter, the electorate, is that if this happened in almost any other walk of life…. he would be sacked.

Now, my view is that the ballot box is the only thing to forcibly remove anyone in elected office in this country. An MP should, however, have the guts and awareness to know when it’s time to avoid bringing our democratic system further into disrepute. If he hasn’t got the foresight to see what this looks like to others, his colleagues should stop sitting on the fence by treating this issue as though it were a gentlemens’ club. They must tell him he should go…. now!

I’m utterly fed up with some in public life ot being accountable or thinking they are above scrutiny. It’s time for all parliamentarians to join the 21st century and open to the same (or more) scrutiny others who use public money have!

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