Tory London Assembly Member has right argument, but wrong application

There has been considerable anguish in the Tory party recently over the statement of one of our London Assembly Members – Brian Coleman. He said in a recent interview:

“They are not entitled to drool over our personal lives. I'm not going to help the mad, bad and the sad, the bloggers on the internet. I'm not pandering to mob rule. It undermines democracy to suggest that all MPs, all politicians are the spawn of Beelzebub”

This was his answer in response to a question over why he wasn’t voluntarily publishing his expense claims, saying it was “none of the public’s business”.

He has the right argument – there are certain elements of a politicians private life which should be off limits to the public and the media. Only if a private action of a politician is hypocritical of a public utterance do I consider it fair game. Not all politicians are bad, in fact I would go so far as to say that 75% are actually good public servants who have been badly let down by the errant 25% who had damaged the standing of politics even more.

Mr Coleman’s application of the principle, however, is completely wrong. How he has spent taxpayers’ money is, of course, a legitimate matter of public concern. He should have published his details along with his colleagues. I am glad that pressure has been brought to bear on him and that he is now publishing his expenses claims voluntarily.

However, Mr Coleman is not out of the woods yet. He has got to be re-selected by his party and re-elected by his constituents. Whether this issue harms him in the future, only time will tell.