UK government performs U-turn on MP's expenses
Just days after the appearance of press reports indicating that Gordon Brown was to push through an exemption for the publication of MP's expenses the government has today performed a massive U-turn on the issue. Under the cover of blaming the Tory party for the withdrawal of " joint support" for the exemption, Gordon Brown was today forced to announce that literally millions of MPs expenses over the last three years will be available for public consumption.
This attempt to shift part of the blame to the Tory party prompted a ferocious backlash from the opposition benches with David Cameron accusing Gordon Brown of another massive U-turn. The last couple of days have seen government leaks regarding the issue and there were suggestions that voters would leave the Labour Party en masse if the expenses were blocked. It would appear that the government had thought that the issue could be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act even though a number of High Court judges had advised against such a move.
While the government hope the issue will now fade away and have no impact on the future there are concerns within government halls of power that yet again Gordon Brown has shot himself in the foot. After entering government on the proviso that his tenure in office would be "whiter than white" this has not always been the case.
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