I’m fed up with Rennard (and George)

Yes I know it’s difficult and perhaps a bit unfair yet `plague on all your houses` is the common refrain. We may live in a `politics bubble` yet most people have kids to attend to, work to go to, football matches to see and hobbies to work on without perusing the finer details.

All they see are headlines going on about MPs mired in corruption and don’t have the time nor the inclination to check whether or not the stories are correct.

There’s to be the meeting on Monday where `frank and full exchanges will be given`. We want more than that – actual decisions and outcomes.

Why?

Cllrs up and down the land have the threat of the Standards Board should they make even minor transgressions.

Members are kicked out for much less than the behaviour of some MPs.

Why should people who give their time and money freely simply for the hope that someone is elected, perhaps sacrificing their own hobbies etc, have different standards apply to them?

That’s not to say that there shouldn’t be natural justice – it’s simply to look at the situation clearly also in a POLITICAL way. Politics in some ways is a bit like a business – trying to raise stock to build votes (and not £s) or trying to defend a run on the Party when things go wrong. One question that might be considered `would this person have to resign if I behaved in such a way in private business`.

It’s also a time to look at this situation innovatively:

On Andrew George:

Some neutral (non-local) campaigners should do canvassing in St Ives (both on foot and on the phone) to test the fallout. This can be done very professionally. This can also be done in Fife NE and Falmouth & Camborne and Teignbridge. It’s amazing how little work that needs to be done to check whether there’s a problem with a particular individual.

On Lord Rennard:

It’s pretty obvious his position is untenable – he is now a thorn in the Party’s side as it will be raised by interviewers at the GE. That’s not because `he followed the rules` (I thought we were trying to think creatively to change society!) but because he seems to have broken at least the spirit of the rules. As far as I can ascertain the Lords’ rules state that a member with his main home outside London can claim for overnight accommodation. He’s said it’s in Eastbourne. The problem is given the home in Vauxhall etc I feel it isn’t true. Does Lord Rennard really feel that the Eastbourne home is his main home both in time commitments and within himself?

Lord Rennard has done wonders for the Party yet I think it’s now time for him to go. If he feels there’s some glaring campaigning issues he can do it free of charge to people in the new team or be moved to some other lesser role.

If Lord Rennard can’t see this then he doesn’t have the judgement to be the Campaign Chief.

Monday has to be a tough day for the Lib Dems – acting ruthlessly and swiftly to bolster our positions; using it as an opportunity for fresh thinking to augment the recent successes (Nick at PMQs and on the Gurkhas, Vince on the Economy and Norman Baker who started this process)

After all, if I’d have acted in such a way I’d be tending my resignation – you different to a mere mortal party hack like me, Lord Rennard?