New Labour Sleaze: No 10 needs to learn 'respect'

timesonline: Tony Blair tried to defuse the growing cash-for-peerages row today by proposing reforms of the honours system that would remove the Prime Minister's right to nominate new member of the House of Lords.

With a characteristic mixture of contrition and defiance, Mr Blair accepted that Jack Dromey, the Labour treasurer who has accused Downing Street of bypassing party institutions, should "of course" have known about seven-figure loans made to Labour by businessmen later nominated for peerages.


But he dismissed as "complete rubbish" the allegation that Labour was running secret parallel accounts and added: "I am completely satisfied that there has been no breach of any of the rules in relation to Labour Party nominations."

Mr Dromey, deputy leader of the TGWU, shook the party last night by charging that three controversial loans had been accepted behind the back of elected party officials. "The Labour Party, its institutions, its democracy, needs to be respected by No 10," Mr Dromey said. Read more

db: We like Dromey - he is traditional [relatively honest] Labour.