Expensesgate - a lesson for Governments thinking of Government 2.0

Expensegate - the shining of a light on the murky recesses of British Members of Parliaments' expense claims - has shown that many of them are not "honourable" members but are merely purveyors of standard issue sleaze.

The Telegraph has been adding some value as a print journal in actually printing some of these depradations, and the country has been both fascinated and disgusted to find that what it always basically suspected was occurring WAS occurring, but worse than they had imagined. Pork barrel Trough nosing has proven far more infectious than Swine Flu.

That this all came to light at all is due to the government passing the Freedom of Information Act, but not realising in time that some tireless campaigners would actually free some information. Attempts to stop it were too late, once the genie is out the bottle its on the internet in a Flash (and a .html, and a .pdf etc etc).

And now those clever netpeople are mashing the data up - this useful Spreadsheet from the Guardian of who has done what travel (see pic up top) iby Tony Hirst s a handy aide memoire and will persist for ever.

So - lessons for those enthusiasts of Government 2.0:

(i) It will expose the skeletons in the closet, you can bet on it

(ii) Be certain you don't have any skeletons in the closet - and as all pillars of society do, this will thus be resisted

(iii) Once the skeletons are out the closet, they can't be put back

(iv) Thats just the start of the changes it will bring.

For UK MP's this is just beginning to dawn on them. Initially they tried to bluster it out, then apologise without real commitments, then try and publicly demonstrate they will repay (watch those cheques the whole way someone) as the whole online and offline world descended on them.

They have yet to grasp that the the entire British public now knows that many MP's are dishonourable people, and without continuous scrutiny would go back to their lyin', cheatin ways etc etc. And trying to blame the Speaker of the House for not catching them cheating first is a total red herring....

Thus the British public wants to ensure that

(i) the lights are always kept on in these murky places

(ii) more lights get turned on in other murky places

(iii) proven dishonourable people go away, to minimise the amount of wattage required

The ramifications of this on politics have only just started....

(by the way, I happen to agree with this counterpoint by Ann Widdicombe, but I think light in murky places is the way to make this work)