There’s been an interesting scandal brewing over the last few days about a lack of transparency on undeclared payments to Conservative MP for Northampton South David Mackintosh.
At first this looks like just another local story of dodgy goings-on by an elected official. But this one has an extra strong whiff of hypocrisy to it.
According to the ConservativeHome website, Mackintosh has been putting himself forward as a champion of greater transparency in government:
“As a local councillor he has championed greater transparency…”
And indeed, Mackintosh has given speeches on transparency – as well as written articles – on the need for greater openness by MPs and councillors, especially in financial dealings:
“I have a very simply view of finance in government … if you don’t have anything to hide then you won’t mind showing the public how you’ve spent it.”
Clearly, when it comes to transparency and openness, Mackintosh’s standards are so high – they’re practically double.
Pride's Purge 
Met campaigners for David the week before the election. I explained that David had pushed through a dodgy looking land deal for friend (a different one to that above).
A guy shipped in from Tory Central office huffed off saying it was all nonsense, leaving a councillor who just nodded his head and said, ‘You don’t surprise me. To be honest, we just want him elected so he isn’t in town any more.’
BTW. Nice of you to allow comments under an article about him, the local paper doesn’t.
Or other council deals for his Tory colleagues.
http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/local/heritage-experts-should-have-been-consulted-before-approving-northampton-councillor-s-cafe-extension-1-7085239
Most dodgy town in the UK?
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@ JP Medard.
Try Wiltshire C.Council handing over their entire Child Care provision to Virgin Health if you want more “dodginess”.
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@Ctesias62… only Child Care? The Tory County Council here are shifting everything to companies. Everything. The whole lot.
They will only employ up to 200 front-of-house staff to run their meetings and speak to the public.
And they’re spending tens of millions on a new building for themselves to watch it from.
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So another supposedly self-proclaimed squeaky clean angel’s halo has slipped. I’d like to know what happened to the Allotment Land in Hawley Road, Dartford. I had an allotment there, and one day I returned to find the land had been sold to a property developer without anyone knowing. Several allotment holders had been there for 20 years or so. One man cleared all the land, about an acre, I guess, not knowing that he was doing it FREE for Dartford Borough Council so they could sell the land. Also, without notification, someone, ran an ad to sell the land. The land is owned by Dartford Borough Council, but the ad appeared in The Senokian, a Sevenoaks Borough Council Publication, without the tenants of Hawley allotments knowing. These petty officials seem to have their dirty little fingers in all sorts of sordid pies and they are ruining our country with their corrupt little plans and pocketing the money. The only pleasure I have in all of this is knowing that the foundations this greedy person’s luxury house is built on is cemented into about 600 bags of horse manure, so it will probably subside at some time and create an enormous stink. The smellier the better.
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