Why Peter Hain Must Go

Another day, another scandal. This time Peter Hain is under mounting pressure to go. At first we were told he had not declared 17 donations to his failed deputy leadership campaign amounting to more than £103,000. As more details emerged it became clear that these donations were made in a rather bizarre manner, via a newly set-up think tank. Then we were told that not all donors were told that money they had given to that think tank was to be diverted to Hain's campaign fund. The think tank involved, known as the Progressive Policies Forum, has no staff and has not undertaken any work as its funds were diverted to Hain. It would be cynical to suggest that this think tank was set up specifically for the purpose of hiding the source of donations to Hain's campaign, and as such we have to give Hain the benefit of the doubt. Nevertheless, given the current administration's track record, this thought is bound to cross the minds of many ordinary voters. It is not necessarily the wrongdoing that is damaging, it is the suspicion that we only ever see the tip of the iceberg, and that there is far more going on than meets the eye.

In the UK we have become accustomed to sleaze in politics. Under John Major's administration there were certainly sleazy individuals. It was possible to find the odd rogue MP prepared to ask questions in the house for cash, and quite a few were caught with their trousers down, but they were acting individually. However, under Blair and Brown and Blair the sleaze has become systemic. Why bother paying for questions to be asked in parliament, when following a substantial donation to the Labour party one could actually become part of the upper house? This time corruption isn't simply a case of a few selfish individuals with their snouts in the trough, although that in itself would be bad enough, under the present administration there appears to be a culture of sleaze running from top to bottom. It's as if corruption has become unofficial government policy, and whether that perception is right or wrong, it does far more damage to the government specifically, and to politics in general, than a few bed-hopping Tories ever did.

Gordon Brown has been part of the New Labour government for the past decade, and continues to preside over systematic rule breaking for which nobody has yet resigned. When Brown assumed control in the Summer of 2007 he promised change, an end to spin, and a different approach. Things would be different on his watch. One could argue that he has achieved this in one sense, as Labour party interests are now deemed paramount, and certainly more important than the national interest. Under Blair ministers would occasionally resign - grudgingly, mind you. Under Brown nobody resigns because it might damage the party. It has even been rumoured that Wendy Alexander, Labour's leader in Scotland, considered her own position untenable after it emerged she broke the rules regarding party donations, and wanted to resign. The story goes that Gordon Brown forced her to stay on because this might have weakened his own position.

It is an appalling mess, and Gordon Brown is ultimately culpable for the whole sorry state of affairs. Never mind Peter Hain, it is Gordon Brown's head that should be on the block for allowing this situation to continue. We need a PM who is prepared to root out and remove those individuals who are caught out, and insist on resignations when required. Gordon Brown, it would seem, is not that man.