David Laws

Our new coalition government suffered its first blow yesterday when David Laws resigned as First Secretary to the Treasury. He was forced to resign when the Daily Telegraph revealed that he had claimed nearly £40,000 in expenses between 2004 and 2007 for rent paid to a landlord with whom he had a relationship. The problem arose because David Laws had been in a long-term relationship with James Lundie and from 2007 it has not been permitted for expenses to be claimed for renting a flat or house or part of these if the owner is a spouse or partner. David Laws has not really done anything wrong. He has a house in his constituency of Yeovil, on which he has a mortgage and he rents part of a house in London. He does not have a civil agreement with James Lundie and if he were a completely independent individual there would be no complaint. David Laws had wanted to keep his sexuality secret and therefore had made no disclosures. His relationship with James Lundie is quite low key. They share the house in London but live fairly separate lives and are only seen together when they go on holiday. The amounts claimed by David Laws were not excessive and he sought no personal gain from the claims. It is sad, that even in this day and age, David Laws could not admit publically that he was gay. As is so often the case, he did not want to tell either his parents or other members of his family. Now the matter has been splashed all over the media and his private life is very public. All the signs during the first two weeks of this government were that David Laws was a very competent minister and his resignation is a sad loss.

Why has this matter suddenly been revealed? The Daily Telegraph has had all the details on MPs expense claims and has made everything public months ago. Nothing was said about David Laws' claims because they were perfectly legitimate and reasonable until it was revealed that he was gay. Somebody has tipped off the Telegraph. It is said that he is considering also resigning his seat in Yeovil and leaving politics completely. I hope he will not do this. He has many qualities which parliament needs.

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