![]() The system is to blame for much of the chaos and confusion that has surrounded the former culture secretary. The principle that MPs should make the final decision over the disciplining of their errant colleagues has been stretched to breaking point and it seems hardly fair to blame Miller for the outcome of a self-regulatory system that has been the source of ridicule and concern for some time. System is brokenĪlthough far less sensational – and therefore by modern media standards less newsworthy – the bigger issue in the “blame game” that needs to be unravelled is not so much “Media Maria” or her team, but the whole issue of parliamentary self-regulation. I can’t help wondering what her ministerial aides and advisers – her spin doctors – were whispering into her ear as she adopted such a strident approach to the issue of her expenses. Politicians at Westminster – irrespective of their party – will generally tolerate many failings and indiscretions on the part of their colleagues, but standing up in the chamber and giving such a brief and curt apology was a terrible error. Indeed, what this less personalised account reveals is a set of blame-games at three levels.Īt the first and most obvious level, Miller really was to blame if not for the incorrect claiming of expenses, certainly for appearing to treat the House with contempt. In order to learn from this affair it is necessary to step back and examine the bigger picture in order to reveal where blame really lies. ![]() ![]() I’m sure that this morning Maria Miller is more aware than most of this fact but it seems too obvious, slightly too clean and simple, to blame just one person for a political saga that has rolled on for some time. Politics is a rough and sometimes brutal business. And yet beyond the sensational headlines the real – and arguably more important issues – remain unexamined. The only real surprise was the way that she had seemed to be toughing out the media feeding frenzy and the gradual, but very clear, loss of political support for so long. The news that Maria Miller decided to resign as culture secretary was not really much of a surprise.
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