Sack Blears, says Hattersley

May 29, 2009

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Roy Hattersley

HAZEL Blears should be thrown out of the Cabinet, says former Labour deputy leader Roy Hattersley.

He said it was time for the party to impose punishments on MPs who avoided paying capital gains tax, adding that their behaviour was 'inconsistent' with the values of the party.

Communities Secretary and Salford MP Ms Blears has come under fire for avoiding a capital gains tax bill of more than £13,000 on the sale of a flat in London. She has since offered to repay the money.

The flat was designated as her main home with the taxman - meaning no tax was due on its sale - but as her second home with the Parliamentary authorities. That meant she could claim for furniture and mortgage interest payments on the flat under the MPs' second-home allowance.

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon and Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell, the Stalybridge and Hyde MP, have also paid no capital gains tax on the sale of properties they had nominated as their second homes for the purpose of claiming Parliamentary expenses.

Asked whether MPs who had admitted wrongdoing should be disciplined, Mr Hattersley said: "If it were me, Hazel Blears, having said that she went through a process of tax avoidance, wouldn't be in front of the star chamber - she would be out of the Cabinet.

"It's inconsistent to be a member of the Labour Cabinet if you consciously try to avoid paying taxes."

He criticised the length of time it was taking the party to take action and its 'obsession' with committees. He said: "I would like some arbitrary punishments to show that these people are unacceptable.

"It's not a matter for the House of Commons, it's for the Labour Party and the Labour Party stands for something better than this."

Senior Labour councillors in Salford were angry about Ms Blears' behaviour at a meeting earlier this month. But she has already been selected as candidate for the new combined constituency of Salford and Eccles.

Senior members of her Constituency Labour Party - which chooses candidates and can also deselect them - have given their full support. The seven most senior officers, including chairman John Cullen, secretary Ray Mashiter and treasurer Matt Mold, said that talk of a no confidence vote was nonsense.

The officers said that some members of the Salford and Eccles Labour Party had concerns but the overwhelming majority were backing Ms Blears as their candidate for the next General Election.

Former BBC journalist Martin Bell - who ousted Neil Hamilton from his Tatton seat in 1997 - is still considering standing against Ms Blears.

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The Very Cheeky Monkey, in the trees (29/05/2009 at 10:53)

Yesterday's man Splattersley is wasting his time trying to interfere in the machinations of the Slaford Labour mafia I suspect. You had your day Roy.

enlightened (29/05/2009 at 11:08)

What does it take for the faithfull to loose it? Has she no shame?

Camosquad, manchester (29/05/2009 at 11:09)

A long-established expression among sailors uses the term "A Jonah" as meaning a person (either a sailor or a passenger) whose presence on board brings bad luck and endangers the ship. In terms of the Labour Party in Salford, Hazel Blears is such a Jonah. Until she is thrown overboard, or disembarks with some grace, Salford's Labour Ship is irreparably leaking! Sad to say, knowing Hazel Blears ego, she will be grinning and smirking to the end until the whole ship sinks but will herself swim off from the wreckage to a comfortable pension and some high-end consultancy work!

Mark, South Manchester (29/05/2009 at 11:13)

Yes sack Blears but why not transport Secretary Geoff Hoon and Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell too?

Esso Blue. , Manchester. (29/05/2009 at 11:18)

Ms blears is a fiery woman and fiery women are sometimes also stubborn

john davis (29/05/2009 at 11:19)

IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO SACK ALL THE LABOUR MP'S AS 55-60% WILL LOSE AT THE NEXT ELECTION ANYWAY, IF BLEARS GO WHICH I SAY SHE SHOULD SO SHOULD HOON AND PURNELL, IN ADDITION WHY DOESN'T SOME ONE IN THE LABOUR PARTY MOUNT A CHALLENGE TO BROWN'S LEADERSHIP AND FORCE HIM TO GO TO A VOTE.

Mark,Radcliffe. (29/05/2009 at 11:34)

Mr Mold said that talk of a no-confidence vote was nonsense....Like everything else about Labour,never willing to take responsibility,so the Salford electorate will be making the no-confidence vote.My question is why subject her to such a personal embarassment,and that of the Party ?

Guten Tag, Manchester (29/05/2009 at 12:18)

"Their behaviour was 'inconsistent' with the values of the party." What are the values of the Labour Party? I don't even think Gordon 'Mugabe' Brown knows! I'm sure there are Labour MPs out there that work hard for their constituents, but they seem to be the few that know what Labour is supposed to be about. Labour certainly seems to have lost it's way over the last 10 years. I can still hear Tony Blair and the song "Things can only get better". I don't think so Tony.

zarquon, bramhall (29/05/2009 at 13:05)

Roy Hattersley’s comment about sacking Blears , will probably be quite comforting to Hazel, as she gets on her bike and goes looking for a new job...as a candidate for somewhere else, taking a leaf out of Roy’s past when he eventually succeeded after 26 applications. With hazels film career albeit short lived, the memories of spitting image and of Roy’s character in that will surely keep Hazel grinning for a long time to come.

hjk (29/05/2009 at 13:36)

Yes sack Bleaars and all the rest (no matter what party) that made the same claim.

Joe Pub, Manchester (29/05/2009 at 14:04)

sack the lot of them.

Esso Blue. , Manchester. (29/05/2009 at 14:19)

She is best going before the Chinese Whispers become to close for comfort

Jeremy Kyle (29/05/2009 at 14:45)

Speaking as a current civil servant within HMRC, what Hazel Blears did may well have been within the rules for both capital gains tax and parliamentary expenses. But whether her conduct was morally acceptable or not is a completely different question and you have to go down to the very basics - Hazel Blears did as much as she could to line her own pockets whilst depriving the national purse of the money it so desperately needs at this difficult time. She can no longer command the respect of her constituents as she puts her interests before theirs and should therefore be sacked if she is not prepared to resign.

Is It Me? (29/05/2009 at 16:36)

Problem is,if they hang on until the next election and lose,or if they don't stand at the next election,they get a huge amount of wages/fiddles for the next 12 months plus severance pay plus an over generous pension.If they are booted out they get nothing,I think.Either way,it doesn't look as if they are going to return their ill gotten gains and their properties that you and I bought are going to remain in their possession! To her credit,Blears payed back some of her illegally acquired cash. They all should be prosecuted INCLUDING the paymasters in Westminster who,it appears,have encouraged MPs to fill their boots.No heads rolling there,I notice!

Andanotherthing, Mcr (29/05/2009 at 16:45)

Is It Me?

They also get a resettlement grant to ease their way back into be a mere mortal.

Richard Dunne at City for ever please (29/05/2009 at 17:15)

She should be sacked but the donkeys who run the Salford Labour Party will not do it. The worst thing is that she is also now taking over the Eccles constituency, because of boundary changes, and the Eccles MP, Ian Stuart is a good MP and not one of the 'grabbers'. The Salford party should sack her and get Ian Stuart, an honourable man, to take over.

willing to listen, Middleton (29/05/2009 at 17:22)

MP's shamed into stepping down after milking the Parliamentary expenses system are to cost taxpayers £150,000 each, in salaries, pensions and allowances by staying in the commons another year !!

Please, please, tell me, I have totally misunderstood this latest jaw dropping news ?? !!

Call for an Election NOW !!!

token male, lush green cheshire (29/05/2009 at 17:45)

Any who volunteers to be an MP for Salford, especially Lwr Broughton deserves all the money they can get

beswick red (30/05/2009 at 02:57)

nu labour goodbye after destroying the social fabric of this great country you will not be missed and you can join the rest of the scroungers who think the world owes them a living lets hope their is change and people actually get out of bed and earn a living because for sure the the financial mess you have created will take many years to clear so the free lunch brigade get ready for change because it will be massive

jeffb, buxton (31/05/2009 at 18:59)

All these fiddling, bent politicians who are staying on will be milking the system blind until the next election, they have now proved than can get away with all these dubious claims so during the next few months they will bleed the system dry.

Tameside Blue, Tameside (31/05/2009 at 22:00)

I would love to see a General election but who would I vote for ?

I reckon we need totally new candidates representing the area and not a 'Party'

Only then will we be able to elect people who will act on 'Our' behalf and not perform for their 'Party'

Let's get rid of the parties and have only independants.

Elect the best in the country for the cabinet and away with tradition

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