There wasn’t much point in Chancellor Rishi Sunyak making a grand speech in parliament yesterday and presenting his budget...because most of the details had already been leaked to the media. This is an outrageous state of affairs and if Prime Minister Boris Johnson believes in parliament then these leaks to the media must stop at once. Infact, it appears to be standard practice, because no-one has questioned why details of the budget have been appearing on newspaper front pages for the last week.
Before it was a question of parliament first and then the British public. These days it is a question of newspaper first, the public then parliament. It wouldn’t have been too long ago that Members of Parliament would have been demanding a major investigation to find the culprit of the leak. In this case the whole British government would have to be investigated. I think this state of affairs shows the complete lack of respect that successive British government have for parliament.
It started with former Prime Minister Tony Blair and it has continued. We have now reached a point where MPs are discovering government policy and spending plans on the front pages of national newspapers. If MPs are to play a valid role they must be seen to be discussing and debating key issues in the interest of the voters. At the moment they are just discussing what has been in the newspapers. I don’t blame the media...just the government!