Wednesday 4th November 2009

Last night was back in Hungerford to listen to former journalist and Member of Parliament Martin Bell promote his new book, A Very British Revolution.

The book focuses on this year's expenses scandal in the House of Commons, which saw hundreds of MPs claim outrageous expenses with the tax payer footing the bill. Martin Bell is perhaps more qualified than most to analyse the scandal after he became an Independent MP in 1997, ousting the disgraced Neil Hamilton by campaigning for trust and transparency in British politics.

Interestingly, Bell implicated civil servants from the fees office of the House of Commons for their part in the whole controversy, as they advised the MPs on how to maximise their allowances. He claimed the fees officers were warned as early as 2002 that a scandal over expenses was just around the corner, but this was ignored. The final warning came last year when Derek Conway hit the headlines after paying his son Freddy out of his expenses when there was no record of Freddy having done any Parliamentary work. The latest expenses scandal broke months ago, but no one from the fees office has yet to be sacked.

Mr Bell also had some interesting things to say about the House of Lords, as it was the upper chamber that stopped MPs from being exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. If members of the Commons had gotten their way, The Daily Telegraph would have been unable to obtain the information on their extravagant expenses, so they would not have been held to account like they have been. So do those who think the House of Lords should be abolished, maybe this whole episode suggests it still has a place in modern democracy to stop our unruly MPs from getting away with murder.

At the end of the 45 minute talk last night, I asked Mr Bell if it was possible to be elected as an Independent MP without having much of a public profile, as he is hoping more Independent MPs are elected next year. He responded by saying that anyone hoping to become an Independent in the House of Commons needs to be well known in the constituency they are standing in, must have a good cause and be up against a vulnerable MP, such as one who has been disgraced and has fallen out of favour with their constituents (there's plenty of them about at the moment, so watch this space). I'm undoubtedly too young and inexperienced to stand as an Independent at the next general election, but maybe one day this bit of advice may be useful...


October was a very good month for Saints, with Alan Pardew's men winning four out of five of their league games. Here are my top three rated players of the month, based on the games I've watched:

1. Adam Lallana - average rating 8.25, from 4 games

2. Rickie Lambert - average rating 7.75, from 4 games
3. David Connolly- average rating 7.5, from 2 games

Adam Lallana edges out Rickie Lambert to be my player of the month for October. Lallana has been in fine form, scoring 4 goals from the left wing. The only worry for Saints fans though is that his great performances will attract the attention of clubs in the Championship and even the Premiership. Whether Lallana stays at St Marys in January may be crucial as to where Saints finish in the league at the end of the season.