The UK urgently needs a genuinely independent body to oversee and enforce the declaration of all financial interests, gifts, and benefits for every elected official, from MPs to councillors. This body must have proper powers, not just advisory ones, to ensure complete transparency.
Public trust in politicians is at rock bottom, and incidents of undeclared benefits only deepen that cynicism. People deserve to know who is influencing those in power and whether decisions are being made for the public good or for private gain. It’s fundamentally about fairness; if ordinary folk have to declare everything, politicians should too, and to a much higher standard.
This new body would maintain a live, public register of all benefits received above a nominal value, making it easily accessible for anyone to scrutinise.
🏴 The Thistle Alliance
Discussion (5)
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Having an independent body that actually has teeth, not just some advisory committee that politicians can ignore, is exactly what we need. It would make it a lot harder for them to hide the "perks" they're getting, which, let's be honest, are just bribes in a nicer suit.
This new body might actually help stop that sort of thing, I mean if politicians have to declare every freebie they get then at least we can see if they're making decisions based on who's lining their pockets. I've had to declare every single free part I've ever been given by a supplier on my tax return, so it's only fair that politicians do the same.