OK, as you all know I’m no fan of politicians and I’ve previously made my opinion of them very clear, but I believe that it is time to draw a line under the MPs expenses scandal and move on.

There is undoubtedly a whiff of a witch hunt in the way that the national newspapers have behaved over the matter of MPs expenses and this has even seeped down to certain local newspapers, who have been ‘targeting’ MPs in their area in accordance with their political leanings. Thankfully the Newsshopper has reported the scandal in a perfectly responsible and balanced way, unlike their local down-market rivals who have made such personal attacks on one local MP that I’m beginning to wonder whether Senator Joseph McCarthy has been reincarnated as their editor!

The fact is that we’re now losing sight of the original problem and are in danger of using all MPs as scapegoats for society’s problems, which is plainly unfair to them. There are actually some very able and honest politicians out there, some who are MPs and some who are striving to become MPs.

Yes, I know that there is enormous and understandable public outrage over MPs expenses, but there are huge decisions to be taken by all the major political parties about the future shape and role of the country, and these have been completely brushed to one side over the last few weeks. The majority of MPs have committed no criminal act – ok, it may be morally wrong, but that’s not a criminal offence – and put it simply it’s not good for the nation to keep flogging this dead horse.