Herc,
Thank goodness TOFO chipped in as I thought I was having to realign my moral compass. The seven quid is an interesting benchmark - what if it had cost 250 to get there, would the vitriol pointed in the MP's direction still have been justified? How much out of pocket should someone have to stump up out of moral obligation?
I think that when you take public office, you do so with a sense of responsibility and commitment that goes beyond the bottom line always being the bottom line. I agree with you that the line must be drawn somewhere. So yes, if you go to one event then (imo) you suck it up, but if you're a few hundred quid out of pocket I don't see anything wrong in suggesting that the public also chips in to getting you there; after all, you are there too, to represent the public.
But this guy claimed for a poppy for god's sake. How grubby is that? And just because you
can do something, doesn't mean you should. After all, he wears it in his day to day life and infront of strangers, and surely he does so because he wants us to believe he believes in what he's wearing. But if he claims it, he is doing so because he believes he has to and
that reduces (imo) his level of commitment and certainly, his sense of integrity.
Hang on, we're talking about legislators - what am I on about, 'integrity'?
