Voices from the Grave and MP's Expenses

The Oran Chapel on Iona stands in the middle of a graveyard: it is the final resting place of numerous kings and nobles, but last week I was again drawn to the grave of John Smith, the former Labour Party leader, who loved the island. In a week of ongoing revelations from the daily Telegraph about the the lives and purses of our MP's, it was salutory to re-read his epitaph:

"An honest man's the noblest work of God". .

I know that many MP's expenses will be legitimate, within the rules of the Parliament and even in the eyes of heaven, and I am not convinced that the self righteous indignation of the Telegraph comes from any higher a motive than the same taudry hopes of increased revenue that have inspired the more dubious MP's expense claims. I also know not to judge too much, lest I be judged accordingly. But it seems to me that the greatest Labour Prime Minster this country never had, still has comment to make on the politics and politicians of today.