“SHE should be doing what is right – not what she is told to do.”
That was the message to Redditch MP Rachel Maclean after she followed the Conservative Party whip and voted with the government in the Owen Paterson fiasco.
That fiasco was for an amendment on a proposed Tory-led standards panel, which could have rescued the career of the former Northern Ireland Secretary after he was found to have broken the rules on lobbying by petitioning ministers on behalf of companies he had received payment from.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered his MPs be whipped into voting for the standards panel, which could have effectively given Conservatives a free hand in deciding right from wrong.
The move sparked outcries of ‘sleaze’ across the political spectrum.
In all 13 Conservative MPs rebelled against the whip – one losing her ministerial job as a consequence – but 248 of them, including Mrs Maclean. voted for the standards panel which was duly passed.
However such was the outrage, the measure was abandoned, the government backtracked and Mr Paterson resigned.
Joe Baker of Redditch Labour said: “Owen Paterson is a total disgrace.
“Politicians when doing something wrong should always put their hands up and admit to it and take the consequences for their actions.
“Those who fail to speak out and challenge those failures are just as bad as those who commit them.
“One again Rachel Maclean has failed to stay true to the position she has the privilege of holding.”
Claire Davies of Redditch Greens said: “In my speech at the count at the last general election I challenged Rachel Maclean to stand up for the people of Redditch and not always follow the party line, and I have not seen a shred of that.
“She constantly follows the party line, doing exactly what she is told instead of taking a step back and doing what is right.”
Mark Tomes, leader of Redditch Liberal Democrats said: “Rachel Maclean is motivated solely by her career rather than what’s best for the people of Redditch.
“Her vote for Owen Paterson is totally unacceptable, what she was trying to do was undermine the democratic process which in my view is highly immoral.”
Mrs Maclean said: “Last week’s vote was a mistake and I personally regret the situation we find ourselves in.
“I do want to make it clear that the amendment I voted on was not about exonerating or letting Owen Paterson off what the Standards Commissioner concluded.
“I can absolutely assure constituents that I am committed, beyond a shadow of doubt, in abiding by the highest standards in public life.
“It is the greatest honour to serve my constituents and I have always served them by working in the public interest and with integrity, accountability, openness and honesty.”
