You say that they are all known but, there is very little (if anything) in the Tory papers about it and I'm not sure if all of those involved have been named.

It was reported that large fines and/or imprisonment could follow, so, hardly the "peanuts" issue that you try to pretend.

It would help the electorate to know who the MP's were that broke the rules and the extent that they "overspent" or is this something else that you feel should be ignored.

We have Grannies who cant pay their bills put in prison but, MP's once again, think they are above the law.

That reminds me, my duck house could do with a new roof

I see you once ignore the Labour concealment of spending during the 2015 election are you suggest members of the Labour elite should also be imprisoned too?

If it is found to be deliberate and fraudulent then, yes.
Lock them all up.

Mind you the Labour MP's are likely to be looking for some other way to fill their time anyway, so, we might as well have them stitching mail bags or making slippers.

Many of those in parliament (on both sides) showed their true colours during the expenses scandal.
They are supposed to make the laws for EVERYONE to abide by bt, in reality, they couldn't give a toss about anyone, other than themselves.

I couldn't agree more - MPs for the most part are a necessary evil - they could be worse they could be members of the house of lords!!

I think Mullholland in Leeds is a genuine guy trying to do the best for his constituents

Mariana Mazzucato just about managed to set the record straight regarding the deficit, and the household budget falacy on Newsnight despite the obnoxious host.
It was amusing watching the Tory bloke on there trying to dodge the questions as to why they've started to implement Ed Miliband's economic policy, despite ridiculing it 2 years ago.

Going well for Labour in the local elections!! It could be worse they could be UKIP - every cloud has a silver lining.

Indeed - the scale of the challenge at the GE is now clear; the strategy to mop up UKIP voters by appealing to their baser instincts has been successful, and if anything good comes out of this, it's that UKIP is now a spent force in UK politics - although I expect they'll still get their regular seat on the QT panel.

Labour have a lot to do to convince Tory voting working class folk that May and co will not represent their interests in any way shape or form; and potentially to mobilise young people, who tend to be Labour supporters, but don't actually vote. Interesting 6 weeks ahead!

New rules around voter registration make it less likely the youth vote will play a significant part in the election. The Conservative Party have moved further to the right and will thus attract a lot of UKIP voters, they’ve effectively adopted UKIP policy. No point to UKIP now.

As for Labour I was intending to vote for them tactically in spite of the current leadership due to a particularly local issue to me. I’m hardly enthused. The Lib Dems aren’t going to attract much in the way of support from disaffected Labour supporters as their performance in government is still fresh in minds, though some may hold their noses and vote tactically. I suspect many will stay at home or vote Green.

The issue for Labour is the leadership - with Corbyn fronting the campaign they are dead in the water - they have released all the good stuff e.g. 10k more police, higher education spend, repeal union legislation etc. Its down hill from here to obliteration.

Burnham is just biding his time

Isn't Burnham Mayor of Manchester or something?

How long will it be before the Tories commit to the "triple lock" on pensions?

It's obviously a vote winner with the "never had it so good's", but it's costing the country mega bucks. Are they confident enough to win without a substantial chunk of the grey vote?

It's all a bit deja vu for me t.b.h, replace Foot with Corbyn, Thatcher with May & Currie with Rudd - hey presto, back to the eighties.

He's the Labour nominee for Manchester. He's the favourite so if he wins he'll not be in the frame to be Labour leader any time soon.

As soon as the party coming knocking he is going to go running

He is a very credible candidate and would make a really good leader

My thoughts exactly - depressing isn't it?

The Greens are waiting to see who Labour & the Libs put forward before deciding whether to go for combined opposition to Hopkins. It will be dependent on them agreeing to a few core policies - such as anti-incinerator, PR.

Clive Lewis would be my pick for the next Labour leader. He's almost a PR dream.
I don't think Corbyn will win, but I do think he'll do better than expected, and that will help lay the ground work for Labour to fight the next election

Almost incredible that a party that has been slashing and burning public services, could be so popular.
It's not often that the ruling party gains seat's at either local or national elections.

Unfortunately, it say more for about the lack of decent opposition.

UKIP's game is well and truly over, although, they achieved what the party set our to achieve.
The Lib - dems looks like a busted flush, having not used their one chance in power to make any meaningful changes of their own (their failure to implement free higher education must be haunting them now.
Labour are just not electable and until they find a way to appeal to the aspirational masses, they will be nothing more than a protest party.
Even the SNP look to have gone backwards.

We can all look forward to further cuts in social services, reductions in spending on education and May doing whatever she pleases, its all just depressing.

Corbyn will still believe he's the best person to lead a Labour revolution #deluded

It could all be distressingly depressing if you hadn't lived through the 80s & the Foot/Kinnock era when things seemed hopeless. You can only polish a turd for so long, then the knives will be out for May & the strong & stable leader will be gone. With a competent leader Labour will come back into that void.

If the Unions hadn't backed the wrong Milliband, Labour would still be a major force in UK politics.
Corbyn has alienated so many ordinary people, they may still have had some chance of winning but, the last 2 years have been dreadful.
As a cynic, it appeared that Labour were hoping for the Tories to implode over the EU but, they have done quite well in keeping their own divisions private.

Oh come on, the disillusion with Labour goes far beyond Corbyn - although he certainly exacerbates it. The thought of Corbyn at the helm and negotiating with the EU is terrifying.



Labour reaped the benefits of their trade union links and working class loyalty for decades and pulled in more votes than they would have based on policies alone. Unfortunately for them, the unions are dead and that old loyalty is dead. Labour haven't represented the British working class for years (does anyone even know what they do represent??) and for those reasons huge numbers of "traditional" voters are turning their backs on them, many to UKIP the last time round, although it looks like those voters could now be moving to the Tories.

As an anecdotal example, something I used to hear a lot but (thankfully) haven't for several years is [i"I vote Labour cos me dad did, and 'is dad before 'im"[/i - which incidentally is just about the most moronic reason to vote for anyone.

Immigration is a huge factor - the effect on low-paid jobs, on communities, on local services, etc. Where are the vast majority of immigrants moving to? Yep, working class areas. Blair opened the doors to mass, rapid and uncoltrolled immigration ahead of time and the working class know this. All they've heard from Labour since, is to shut up and deal with it (or be accused of racism), and how b1oody wonderful all this mass immigration is - not what they want to hear. Frankly too many on the left seem more concerned with the rights of Romanians and Poles than they do with issues in their local constituencies, affecting local people. Labour occasionally mumble that they understand this, but in truth they're too weak and scared to do anything about it.

Burnham's won Manchester.

As an anecdotal example, something I used to hear a lot but (thankfully) haven't for several years is "I vote Labour cos me dad did, and 'is dad before 'im" - which incidentally is just about the most moronic reason to vote for anyone.

Massive numbers of people follow their parents' voting habits and not just Labour supporters.
After losing power, Miliband was the wrong man and voted in with block votes.

In a sense, Labour are getting what they deserve.
The main problem now is, that, The Tories without meaningful opposition and with carte blanche to do what they want will cripple the poor sod's at the bottom of the pile.

You do realise not to take it to to heart so much as you get older and that it's all just a game anyway.

Labour's has lots of problems. One is the calibre of their front liners. That gobby tart on QT last night just comes across as an ignorant yob. Like most Labour MPs, when a question about finance came up she showed a complete lack of understanding. I believe she asked Davis what the minimum (not maximum) divorce bill he'd accept in Brexit talks! That after floundering and being unable to answer the question as put to her. Diane Abbott the other day too. No credibility and people see that.

The other problem Labour has as well as the General one if not representing anybody us that they are always out of step with the public as a whole on the big issues - Brexit and immigration being two.