I fear it is not only the government but the other parties as well, who have double standards. The people in charge of the banks, who through their actions orchestrated the credit crunch, and in most cases are still in office, are being paid now, presumably, by the public purse. At the same time MPs who, not necessarily through criminal intent, but by the accepted practices over years and decades, have been found to have digressed, are merely being pilloried, required to refund, and worse still, generally running around like chickens with their heads cut off, because they find the opinions in the media, generated for gain, with no concept of the damage that is being done to the whole of our political system. at a time when what we need is cool, and considered judgement, react, instead of thinking for themselves critically and with judgement before acting.
I wonder if I, just an ordinary citizen, had been discovered by my employers to take company money and use it for my own purposes, I would be allowed to refund it, get a smack on the wrist, a nod and a wink, and get a job somewhere else, or would I find myself in front of the Beak, trying to justify my actions so that I wouldn’t be sent to jail. Interesting?