Gregor Gall, writing in the Morning Star, draws lessons from the fate of those Labour MPs disgraced in the Parliamentary expenses scandal: ‘Their Achilles' heel in regard of their expenses seemed to be that they started to operate as independent MPs who just happened to be elected on a Labour ticket, and once they got to Parliament they could go off down their own merry little road’:http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/101521
Gall stresses the importance of both accountability and an open, collective culture to ensure that political representatives do not become compromised by wayward individual behaviour or abuse of position:
‘This would mean that while the leaders and politicians are "first amongst equals" because of the role they play, those that work with them directly and indirectly are capable of being equals too. In other words, around the people at the top are a group of cadres and comrades that are free, willing and able to give advice and criticism as well as make sure the joint effort is a genuinely collectively owned political project.’
