When the coalition government was formed there was no brighter star in the political firmament than David Laws. The newly appointed Chief Secretary was destined to achieve greatness. And then he was gone. Revelations about his expenses and sexuality came from nowhere (The Daily Telegraph) to engulf the baby faced MP for Yeovil. The star came crashing down to earth after just seventeen days.
At the time of his resignation there was much debate in the media about whether or not his sexuality and his desire to conceal it somehow mitigated the seriousness of what he had done. Some commentators even argued that he should be able to continue in office, ignoring the fact the political careers of many Tory MPs had been destroyed for less.
Later this week the report on David Laws by expenses watchdog John Lyons will be published. There has already been a great deal of media speculation about its contents. Somebody seems to have been very busy informally briefing the media!
It would seem that the report is going to be very critical. This in itself should ensure that he is unable to return to ministerial office. I have no doubt, however, that there will be another attempt to use his sexuality to mitigate the seriousness of what he has done.
Nobody doubts the political ability and intellect of David Laws. In an ideal world he should be a senior member of the coalition. Politics needs people like David Laws. Yet are we really saying that an offence motivated by a desire to conceal your sexuality is somehow less serious than an offence motivated by financial concerns?
As a Catholic I can understand that David Laws may have wished to conceal his sexuality from his parents or other close relatives. He could have done that quite simply by not claiming up to £950 a month to rent a room in his boyfriend’s house in Kennington. Had he not done so his sexuality would never have become public and he would be one of the most senior members of the Cabinet.
Nobody could ever accuse me of being homophobic but I feel really strongly about this case. The sexuality of David Laws must not be allowed to confuse the issue. Imagine if a Tory minister was exposed for claiming the rent for a room in the home of his mistress. Would there be any sympathy for him? Would his understandable desire to conceal his adultery from his wife and family mitigate what he had done? Of course not.
I can understand the desire of both the PM and the Deputy PM for David Laws to return to senior ministerial office but on the basis of what the media is speculating is in the report it simply cannot be. Tory MPs will rightly go berserk if he is treated differently to one of their own. It is a human and political tragedy but I think this is one political career which is probably over.
There was a time when being outed as gay in politics meant that your career was finished. That is thankfully no longer the case. It means, however, that being gay can never be used to justify or mitigate actions that would not be acceptable by somebody who is straight.
What is your view of what David Laws did? Does his desire to hide his sexuality mitigate what he did? Is his political career now over? Should it be?
No comments:
Post a Comment