David Chaytor Pleads Guilty

Former Labour MP David Chaytor has pleaded guilty to three charges of theft.

This was his Unlock Democracy EDM from four years ago.

That this House notes the growing concern about the impact of low turnouts at national and municipal elections, the decreasing membership of political parties and the alienation of many younger citizens from the political process; believes that there is an urgent need for all political parties to renew their policies on democratic renewal; considers that further devolution and decentralisation of power, combined with greater use of different forms of grass roots democracy, will be essential to this process; and congratulates Charter 88 and the Politics Network on their decision further to integrate their work, under the banner of Unlock Democracy, to enable them to campaign jointly on these issues.

Inadvertently the charlatan has boosted the case for democratic renewal better than he ever could have done as an MP. David Chaytor was one of the tosspots who tried to use parliamentary privilege to protect themselves from the law, had they succeeded in their attempt to pervert justice it would have been a bigger outrage than the theft itself. I hope that he spends Christmas in prison.