Flipping, sinning or defying?
Back in July last year MPs voted for a below inflation pay-rise but stamped on plans to reform the £23,000 Additional Cost Allowance that MPs get to maintain second homes in London.
Look back through Hansard and mutter to yourself that ten months is a very, very long time in politics.
Remind yourself that 172 members to 144 voted to support an amendment by Islwyn MP Don Touhig to keep the ACA and to subject it only to internal, not external scrutiny. Why shove money into the pockets of accountants, asked Mr Touhig? Was there not "a responsibility not to waste public money?"
External audits would cost millions, he warned and MPs would be "committing ourselves to employing hundreds of accountants who will travel Britain, at great cost to the taxpayer, checking on whether a member in the north of Scotland has spent too much on paper clips".
It turns out they would have been diverted by wildly expensive furniture and moat dredging claims long before they'd made it anywhere near the Scottish border.
As the revelations continue, fingers haven't - thus far - been pointed at Plaid MPs. I notice their parliamentary leader, Elfyn Llwyd has toned down the "spotless" claim a bit mind you, going instead for the line that Plaid MPs have submitted expense claims that have always been "in accordance with the spirit and the letter of the parliamentary guidelines."
Perhaps it's excitement at the parliamentary leader being named as "plausible" successor to Michael Martin , perhaps it's just someone's lucky number but Plaid's obsession with the number 7 has returned.
First we had the '7 policies for '07' that were designed to "transform" the country. Now, they've come up with the '7 deadly parliamentary sins'.
Here they are:
The practise of flipping
Climbing the property ladder at the public expense
Claiming a second home discount
Giving the wrong address - ie. claiming that the constituency-based family home is the designated second home
Long distance shopping - the practise of claiming for objects delivered to your second home but used as the first
Tax evasion
and claiming for luxury items.
You may want to add your own idea of what a parliamentary sin is to that list.
Gordon Brown is outlining his own thoughts on what is just about acceptable and what is sinful now. He may, before sitting down, explain what exactly "defying" the rules mean, who is out and who is in.
But from all parties you can't miss one big attempt to tell us that they've got the message: the end of Michael Martin's career as Speaker cannot signal an end to attempts to clean up the parliamentary expenses system.
I'm Betsan Powys, BBC Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on 
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It could have been .....
..... the '8 deadly dis-Assembly sins' .....
add .....
..... giving ambiguous replies to questions.
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message 1....
Failing to carry out the mandate published before the last election.(OR any previous election for that matter).
Failing to serve the people who put them there.
Failing to 'gang up' on the inner cabinet, to the point of overturning policy proposals that the House in general was not in favour of, ie taking the Party line and whip, to the disadvantage of the country....
Pretty well turning the nation in to a police state.
Then trying to.... Oh! Blow it....
No....sorry Stony, this could go on for hours, must stop, before your cup runneth over.
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"Remind yourself that 172 members to 144 voted to support an amendment by Islwyn MP Don Touhig to keep the ACA and to subject it only to internal, not external scrutiny."
We don't need reminding of how that pit of corruption known as Westminster got to be as it is.
The Speaker (rightly in my opinion) has resigned because he supported the demands of MPs to protect their privileged status. Now its the turn of those selfish and money-grabbing MPs themselves to go. IMO they are more guilty than the Speaker.
Mr Don Touhig chaired the relevant Committee on MPs expenses and moved the amendment to effectively keep their squalid practices secret. Allegations about Mr Touhig's own expenses claims have been made in The Telegraph and elsewhere.
Now its his turn to RESIGN.
But will he? Of course not.
Only people with principles, scruples and a regard for truth possess a conscience to the extent that they would resign. Regrettably such individuals are in short supply in the UK's political system.
Mr Touhig has played a less than praiseworthy part in the entire sordid saga. The voters of Islwyn need to know of his activities before the next election. The Islwyn Constituency Labour Party should ensure that they choose a candidate of proven integrity to stand in his place.
It would be unfair to single out Don Touhig for his part in the debacle.
We don't know how many MPs in total have played the system. Half of Gordon Brown's incompetent Cabinet should be hung out to dry because they've cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds.
It isn't good enough to cry, 'It was a mistake!' and 'I've paid the money back'. These people have lost all moral authority and are not fit for public service let alone Government. Its an indication of Brown's weak position that he can't sack them, despite his hint that Hazel Blears may be vulnerable. She may yet resign.
Neither is an immediate general election the answer, although we'd all like to tell the troughers where to go. We'd end up with a Cameron government. Pity help Wales then. If its bad now, it can get a lot worse.
Hobson's choice for the poor voter. Deadly for democracy. What a mess!
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When it comes to voting, will most people like me simply look at the list and with pen hovering over the paper, write down 'NONE OF THEM' or just not turn up to cast their vote? In the eyes of the general public, politicans are lower than a snakes belly.
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brynt41 at #3 wrote .....
Neither is an immediate general election the answer, ..... . We'd end up with a Cameron government.
But that's democracy, let the people speak.
Bob7291,
Did some become what they have because we found other things to do in life, we forgot to cast our vote, we forgot about democracy.
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What about brass-necked Stephen Crabb? No apology, no declaration of intent to repay, just a comment in his local newspaper that he was "mortified" to have been named by the Daily Telegraph (that well known left-wing journal). I'm sure he was.
The prospect of this man "opening his books" at a public meeting would seem to suggest that it hasn't yet dawned on him that there was anything wrong in what he did. This included declaring his family home in Pembrokeshire as his second home, and the flat he shared with another MP in London as his first home. Why would you do that? Why would you classify the home where your wife and children lived, the home in the area you are supposed to represent, as your second home?
I'm not sure how many of the so-called Seven Deadly Parliamentary Sins he might have broken, but 1,2 and certainly 4 seem to be relevant.
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Don has never been the sharpest tool in the box-bless him.
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7. Neither is Adam Price? Who?
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