moral politicians - any out there ??

[olddutch]

Are there any genuinely moral politicians in the present parliament ?

If so - who are they ? and in what order would you put your top 10 ? ( if there are that many ) - you're allowed your own definition of moral !

[jake-the-peg]

Don't know them well enough

I do know Roin Cook resigned as home secretary rather than take Britain into the Iraq war.

I can't recall a similar decision of principal by such a high ranking minister but maybe some of you have longer memories.

Had he lived I think he might have sucessfully stood against Gorden Brown for the leadership. Although ditching his wife and marrying his PA might have been a problem

Whether he would have made a good PM though is anybody's guess

[Gromit]

Are there any genuinely moral politicians in the present parliament ?

It is impossible to prove, but I suspect that MPs have always been the same, and that this present lot are no worse than previous generations.

There are many reasons for becoming an MP. It is probably unfair on them to assume that they all do it for altruistic reasons.

There are very many MPs who are unblemished by this present scandal and have behaved above reproach. I fear the media are tarring them all with the same brush and the public are falling for it.

[jno]

there will no doubt be some who haven't padded their expenses, but many of those will prove to be millionaires; I'm not sure that makes them more moral. Ed Miliband doesn't seem to have claimed much beyond the bare minimum for a second home, so you could start there.

Few MPs retire rich, except those who started out that way.

[rov1200]

Hilary Benn seems to come out top of the Labour ministers. I think his claim turned out to be for just some food.
Gordon Brown for all the recriminations has not benefitted from the expenses row. Employing a cleaner would not go down as extravagent.
David Cameron seems squeaky clean but with his salary and wealthy family does he need to worry.
Norman Baker the Liberal comes near the top and his campaigning on issues is a fly in the ointment to the current government.
Any Scottish MP because of the expenses incurred are probably claiming to the limit anyway.

[Whoever]

If I had to nominate one politician who was genuine moral and honest I would opt for FRANK FIELD. He has been a hard working MP for many years (not my constituency) who comes up with a great deal of common sense on the economy, on pensions, and a lot of other major political issues. If I had to nominate anybody for the next leader of the Labour Party, I think he's the only candidate I can think of who stands head and shoulders above all other Labour politicians, and he knocks Gordon Brown into a cocked hat.

[olddutch]

Jake , Gromit, Jno, rov, (- and all)

To slightly re-do the question

Going on sheer gut instinct which are the top 10 politicians you would trust to do a good honest job for us ?

[ludwig]

This one. Far too honest and human to be a cabinet minister, which is why she resigned.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/2 359695.stm

[jno]

Brown's moral. The Telegraph seems to have backtracked on their suggestion that he's just another crook, admitting that he was just the victim of an overcomplicated system (what they mean is they were confused by the system and didn't realise he'd put in a perfectly valid claim for keeping his place clean.)

On the other hand, being moral doesn't necessarily make you a good politician, as the same man has demonstrated.