Following the Derek Conway scandal all three party leaders have called on MPs in their party to declare any family members working for them.
But does that go far enough? No, not even close.
The employment of family creates a clear conflict of interest; indeed that’s why so many legal firms (to give but one example) have a ban on partners employing their children. And when that conflict acts as a threat to the interests of the tax payer there seems little way to justify its existence.
To paraphrase Milton Friedman, if you’re spending sombody elses money on somebody other than yourself you’ll be a lot less conservative in how much you spend than if it were your own money. That’s not to say MPs can’t be trusted, by and large they can, but the reality is that any parent, husband, or wife is going to want to do the best they can for their significant other/children. That might mean a little bit more money than they perhaps deserve, a few more days of paid holiday, a little bit less work around the office etc; but ultimately it means the tax payer’s money is a little bit less secure. And that simply isn’t acceptable.
Besides it’s not like there’s a shortage of people who want to work in politics…
February 1st, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I agree that MPs should not be allowed to employ their kith and kin, at the tax payers’ expense, but would observe that there is not necessarily a conflict of interest in the employment by an MP of members of his family in connection with his parliamentary duties. There is, undeniably, a potential conflict of interest, which at least recognises that some MPs may have the strength of character to resist temptation, as unlikely as that seems.
Why aren’t italics’ HTML tags acceptable here?
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Rubbish, quite frankly.
If you marry the secretary, do you have to sack her? Can you employ your unmarried partner? Can you employ your lover?
It is perfectly acceptable to employ people in your own family. After all, if you compare it to a small business, most small businesses employ members of their family. It’s just sensible and good practice.
In terms of not abusing tax payers money, well I am sure it is not beyond the wit of MPs to devise some system which is transparent and prevents systematic abuse.