Blackpool's Conservative prospective MP speaks

clipped from www.ronbell.org.uk Greedy, hypocritical with their snouts and even their heads firmly rooted in the proverbial trough. This according to the media is how some if not all of our Members of Parliament are perceived by the public. Unfortunately, from the stories that keep appearing in the media this perception seems to be far closer to reality than any self respecting individual would care for it to be. 1. Firstly, I believe that all Members of Parliament must publish on their website a complete break down of all the funding they receive for undertaking their duties; allowances, pay and expenses etc. I know that some Members of Parliament already do this but it must become standard practice for all. The fact that many choose not to do so only fuels the public's misgivings and feelings of mistrust. I almost wrote - with forked tongue. Here is a man who refused to allow members of his own organisation, I use the expression very selectively, access to minutes of meetings for which he was secretary. He wanted a member to travel all the way from his home in Exmouth so that minutes could be perused. I don’t know what you would call it, but it is not the actions of a public figure that I would condone. My literary relationships with several MP’s include Tony Benn, Paddy Ashdown and several local councillors. It is only Blackpool’s Conservatives who fail the manners test as it is only recently that they have discovered the power of electronic communication. If Blackpool RMA members were denied access to Minutes because Mr Bell would not publish them on Email, what trust can an electorate make of his assertions that his political party will be more forthcoming with them, the electorate? I have and will publish in full the letter from this member requesting access to the minutes and the reply that made it impossible for any ordinary member to scrutinise what was really happening within that organisation. It smacks of Westminster even before, God forbid, he ever gets there.