36 days to go - In which Mr Shapps becomes Mr Green in his second job. Which he doesn't have.

01/04/15

Dear Claire,

Well it's a glorious, crisp, sunny April morning - the 1st of April in fact, so it's appropriate that our subject today is a bit of a fool.

 

Perhaps not a fool, more a liar that believes normal parliamentary rules don't apply to him and that he's beyond criticism. I refer, of course, to your lovely party chairman, Grant Shapps.

When first elected in 2005, Mr Shapps declared unequivocally that he had no second job. As we now know, he lied. He continued his business under the pseudonym Michael Green, and it has been proved that he was making marketing pitches and doing business in 2006. OK, your esteemed leader said that 'we need to move on'. Green, sorry - I mean Shapps, said this was 'old news' and tweeted that Labour are 'anti-business'.

Quite honestly, I don't think this is that big a deal, were it not for the way the Tories have been bleating on and on about reducing benefit fraud. Had Shapps been claiming any sort of benefit, and had subsequently been shown to be working at a time when he said he wasn't, he would have had the book thrown at him.

Not just a slapped wrist, not just an irate job-centre employee telling him not to do it again, but possibly arrest, definitely a summons, definitely a court case, perhaps a prison sentence, undoubtedly a large fine, undoubtedly a criminal record.

The fact it occurred 9 years ago is irrelevant. Would the Dept of Work and Pensions be prepared to let such a transgression go, were it 9 years in the past? I think we both know the answer to that one!

Had this been a Labour MP, we would have had Cameron banging his fists at the despatch box, demanding a full investigation and baying for blood.

As it is, it's been allowed to sink into the background amid the general hubbub of pre-election noise.

This is rank hypocrisy of the first order, and you know it. One rule for Tory MPs, different rules for everybody else.

Shame on him for not coming clean, and shame on Cameron for not making an example of this deeply corrupt behaviour.

That's it for today. I hope you have a good day aboard your 'battle bus' stopping for various photo opportunities to fill the local papers.

Might be nice if you could answer the occasional question.

All the best

Polly