The drive by David Cameron to restore the reputation of politics is being lambasted by independent commentators as being 'two-faced' and opportunist.
Investigations have revealed that despite Cameron's pledge to 'smell test' politics, it is the Conservative Party which also remain mired in controversy over the failure of its MPs to repay thousands of pounds, and the tax status of its biggest benefactor, Lord Ashcroft.
The expenses Scrutiny Panel was established by Cameron last year to "go beyond" the discredited Parliamentary rule book and decide whether claims were acceptable or not. It announced that Tory MPs should repay £125,000 after the panel examined the claims.
Accoding to the Evening Standard, a comparison between Commons Record, Legg and the Scrutiny Panel report shows that among the promised paybacks by Tory MPs a number have been 'airbrushed', including £15,000 for rent and mortgages by a senior MP, £800 for gardening by a shadow defence minister and a £135 for the cost of "changing a light bulb" put in by shadow David Willetts.
The findings put into question Cameron's pledge to restore the reputation of politics.
Indeed, Lord Ashcroft, a man who donates multi-millions of pounds to Conservative candidates, still has not clarified his tax status.
Tory party officials have repeatedly refused to say whether they believe the British public has a right to know the truth about the current tax status of Lord Ashcroft, the multi-millionaire who has helped to bankroll the party for almost three decades.
Ashcroft, a deputy chairman of the party, was granted a seat in the Lords in March 2000 after promising to return to Britain from his home in Belize and pay UK income tax by the end of that year.
Since then, the tycoon has repeatedly declined to say if he has made good on that promise, and senior Tories have faced censure from the information commissioner for what he describes as their "evasive and obfuscatory" statements on the matter.
Another of Cameron's attack to 'restoring the reputation' of politics was the £2m a year corporate lobbying industry. An attack that is particularly ironic given the number of lobbyists who are seeking to become Tory MPs, coupled with the fact that his local Conservative Association is managed by Peter Gummer - founder of Shadwick PR.
The Tory party has failed to mend itself. With individuals bankrolling the party from dubious sources, lobbyists at its core and a failure to clean up its own act on expenses.
The Party continues to by labled as a party comprised of the landed aristrocracy and gentry. An accusation which has seen the party poll beneath 40% despite 13 years of Labour incumbency. Surely Tories must be asking, if he cant poll above 40% now, what on earth will be like when he actually has to make some unfortunate decisions, if heaven-forbid he is elected.
Investigations have revealed that despite Cameron's pledge to 'smell test' politics, it is the Conservative Party which also remain mired in controversy over the failure of its MPs to repay thousands of pounds, and the tax status of its biggest benefactor, Lord Ashcroft.
The expenses Scrutiny Panel was established by Cameron last year to "go beyond" the discredited Parliamentary rule book and decide whether claims were acceptable or not. It announced that Tory MPs should repay £125,000 after the panel examined the claims.
Accoding to the Evening Standard, a comparison between Commons Record, Legg and the Scrutiny Panel report shows that among the promised paybacks by Tory MPs a number have been 'airbrushed', including £15,000 for rent and mortgages by a senior MP, £800 for gardening by a shadow defence minister and a £135 for the cost of "changing a light bulb" put in by shadow David Willetts.
The findings put into question Cameron's pledge to restore the reputation of politics.
Indeed, Lord Ashcroft, a man who donates multi-millions of pounds to Conservative candidates, still has not clarified his tax status.
Tory party officials have repeatedly refused to say whether they believe the British public has a right to know the truth about the current tax status of Lord Ashcroft, the multi-millionaire who has helped to bankroll the party for almost three decades.
Ashcroft, a deputy chairman of the party, was granted a seat in the Lords in March 2000 after promising to return to Britain from his home in Belize and pay UK income tax by the end of that year.
Since then, the tycoon has repeatedly declined to say if he has made good on that promise, and senior Tories have faced censure from the information commissioner for what he describes as their "evasive and obfuscatory" statements on the matter.
Another of Cameron's attack to 'restoring the reputation' of politics was the £2m a year corporate lobbying industry. An attack that is particularly ironic given the number of lobbyists who are seeking to become Tory MPs, coupled with the fact that his local Conservative Association is managed by Peter Gummer - founder of Shadwick PR.
The Tory party has failed to mend itself. With individuals bankrolling the party from dubious sources, lobbyists at its core and a failure to clean up its own act on expenses.
The Party continues to by labled as a party comprised of the landed aristrocracy and gentry. An accusation which has seen the party poll beneath 40% despite 13 years of Labour incumbency. Surely Tories must be asking, if he cant poll above 40% now, what on earth will be like when he actually has to make some unfortunate decisions, if heaven-forbid he is elected.
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