ARROGANCE BEYOND BELIEF

I've just been watching Look North on the telly. My TV is a clapped-out old thing that used to belong to my dad and I have been meaning to replace it for ages, A couple of hundred quid should get me a decent flat-screen model which will suffice for my modest needs. Not so Shahid Malik. When he wanted a new telly, he spent over £1000 on a "home cinema" - paid for of course out of the taxpayer's purse. I've just watched Malik defending himself - the arrogance was utterly astonishing. No wonder Gordon Brown moved swiftly and ( I hope) urged him to stand down. He actually thought his constituents, in one of the poorest parts of West Yorkshire "would understand." Well, actually, watching them being interviewed , it is clear they do not. They do not understand when they are struggling every week to pay bills that their MP is claiming for such essentials as a swanky telly and a massage chair . To say it is taking the mickey is an understatement. Which is why, instead of the quiet night in I had planned, I am heading to Leeds for a live radio discussion on MPs and Parliamentary selections. I would like to thank Radio 4 for the invite to say what I think......