Derek Conway, another fool

It appears Derek Conway has been very foolish, maybe even fraudulent, in paying at least one son a wage totalling £44,000 to work as an aide in his office when the son was actually studying at Newcastle University. The parliamentary standards committee have ordered Mr Conway to give £13,000 pounds back, and be suspended from the House of Commons for 10 days. There maybe a police investigation too.

For David Cameron this is the moment when he must display the decisiveness that he claims Gordon Brown lacks. He must make sure that Derek Conway loses the Conservative whip. The likelihood is that he will be de-selected by the local party at the next election.

Tony Blair claimed, when coming into office, that his party would be "whiter than white, purer than pure", a foolish claim but one which looked utterly stupid and disingenuous when he let minister after minister cling on while investigations were carried out. He stood by several ministers even when misdeeds were proven.

Mr Cameron has not been so silly to make the same claim, but he should achieve a more robust reputation by acting decisively now. The voters will praise him for his actions. Come on Mr Cameron, throw him out.

Squiffy.