Years of lies and hypocrisy during UK coalition government rule have left Member of Parliament Simon Hughes a "social democratic husk" - and an ideal candidate to join the government! Here’s a run-down of duplicity from the new minister of state for justice:
- Calling stealth privatisation in the Health Bill “unacceptable” … then voting for it at every stage
- Lying about abstaining on parliamentary votes affecting housing rights for thousands of his constituents
- Applauding gay marriage at Lib Dem conference … after abstaining during third reading citing his religious views
- Saying that the benefit cap should be dropped … after voting with the Tories for it
- Telling the Commons that councils should have planning powers to restrict betting shops … then voting against such a measure
- Claiming difficulties during the London riots “demonstrated the case against cuts” to the police … then voting to cut police numbers.
- Calling for the NHS Risk Register to be published, then saying “governments are entitled to resist requests for information”
- And, of course, saying that he wouldn’t take a government job … and then taking one.
Hughes has behaved like a man who doesn’t realise that parliamentary votes are recorded.
UPDATE: Some more examples from readers …
- Saying of the bedroom tax: “it is not practical to insist that people move if there is nowhere for them to move to” … and then voting to keep it.
- Repeatedly voting to reduce local authority budgets … then claiming that councils’ cuts were “politically motivated”
- As a closet bisexual man, being elected to parliament off the back of the most notoriously homophobic campaign in British political history.
* This story first appeared on Political Scapbook.net.
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
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