I grew up in Dorset, my parents still live there and although I left the country 11 years ago I still read the Echo to see what’s going on ‘at home.’ I’ve been reading the tone of many of the comments on the Echo website about the MPs’ expenses issue and frankly find most of them completely ludicrous.

It may be unpopular, but if everyone wants to know how this happened and who is to blame, well ultimately it’s you, the electorate and you, the Echo who allowed it to happen – and therefore you are all to blame.

Before this issue blew up, did any one of your readers raise hell over the issue of MPs’ expenses?

Did anyone ask their MP how much they were claiming?

Did anyone raise this with the Echo if they didn’t get an answer?

Did the Echo ever think this might not be an issue that would interest its readers?

Yes, the MPs did concoct this system and yes, this system was pushed to and beyond its limits, but which one of you ever tried to hold them accountable?

You voted for them, or at least in the case of Bournemouth West at the last General Election 53.3 per cent of you did (87th lowest turnout out of 646 constituencies).

They represent you the voters, and you did nothing to make sure they stayed on the straight and narrow.

Some of you turned up like sheep to vote along with your ‘conscience’ and then figured you’d done your bit for the next five years.

A democracy gives you the control of how the country is run, freedom of the press gives the Echo the right and duty to investigate what is happening.

All of you handed control of the how your constituencies are run to your parliamentary representatives and in effect said to them: “Do what you want, nothing to do with us any more.”


Vernon Rabbetts, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia