MPs’ expenses: the legacy of a scandal 10 years on

The main conclusion of the existing research base is that, despite the public anger it ignited, the MPs’ expenses scandal actually had little impact on British politics. This article questions this conclusion and suggests that the impact of the scandal was far more significant and multi-dimensional than has generally been recognised. This article uses research and interviews that were undertaken to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the MPs’ expenses scandal to reflect upon its long-term social, political and institutional consequences. Drawing upon a range of sources it makes three main arguments. The first is that the MPs’ expenses scandal had a more significant impact in terms of institutional change than has generally been recognised within the existing research base. It is also possible to suggest (our second argument) that the scandal also had a powerful cultural affect both within and beyond the Palace of Westminster. Our third and final argument is that our research suggests that parliament still exists in the shadow of the expenses scandal and that if a longer-term perspective reveals anything it is the failure of the scandal to stimulate a broad-ranging and balanced discussion about the inevitable cost of politics, and therefore of politicians.