Is being naive Jacqui’s biggest crime?
Surely she realised it would all come out one day?
Just reflecting on the Jacqui Smith investigation the thing that strikes me is that it apparently never twigged to the holder of one of the highest offices in the land that her home expenses claims stank – irrespective of whether she was following the strict letter of the rules or not.
Surely someone who has managed to climb up the greasy poll of politics to the height that she has got to must have reflected at one point or another that what she was doing would not pass the “Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday” test. Home Secretaries have an additional burden because of their responsibility for law and order.
The default assumption for all prominent politicians must be that at any time every aspect of their behaviour is liable to be subject to the most intense scrutiny by unfriendly parts of the media that will put the worst possible interpretation on their actions?
It’s tough – but they chose to go into politics and that’s life.
Why didn’t the alarm bells go off in Smith’s mind during last year’s difficulties for Derek Conway and hit several other MPs less prominent than herself. It’s extraordinary that she didn’t question how her own arrangements might look in the cold light of the day?
The Home Secretary’s “crime” is that she’s shown herself to be stupid. Whatever the inquiry comes up with she is now toast and she has only herself to blame. My 6/4 bet that she’ll go as home secretary before the general election looks good.
Today on PB: I’m on “grandparent” duty at my daughter’s in Croydon. I haven’t got my super fast home computer or broadband connection. The result is that I won’t be monitoring the site as much as usual and items might be left in the spam box for longer than normal.
