Three-quarters of those polled said Cameron was wrong to stand by her, while 68% said she should step down as an MP. Ominously, said the accompanying article, 82% of Tories think Miller should be fired from the cabinet. (An online Guardian poll was running 97% in favour of her resignation yesterday afternoon). Yesterdays editorials reflected the same point of view. The MoS called Millers behaviour inexcusable, adding: Her stiff-necked arrogance was greatly magnified by the MPs who watered down her punishment almost to nothing, and the Prime Minister who very unwisely stood by her. The Observer said Millers churlish behaviour demeans her fellow politicians... Ms Miller is idiotic not to bow her head in contrition. David Cameron is foolish not to ask her to go. The Sunday Times argued that the call for Miller to go was not special pleading because of concerns about press regulation. It was more troubled by the fact Miller attempted to bully Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary standards commissioner in order to frustrate her investigation. The Sun on Sunday honed in on two salient points: First she tried to intimidate the Press to stop reporting her behaviour. Then she tried to browbeat the investigator. And it concluded: If youre wondering why theres such a conspiracy of silence from her fellow MPs, its simple. Theyre all in it together. Another Tory-supporting paper, the Sunday Express, reached a similar conclusion: Even by the debauched standards of public life in recent years the case of culture secretary Maria Miller is truly a shocker. Repaying a fraction of the amount she was originally ordered to pay by the public commissioner, cack-handed attempts at intimidation, a laughable apology to the House... is it any wonder that the political class is held in such low public esteem? More than a dozen columnists weighed in with attacks on Miller, on Cameron and on the culture of MPs. Although I have witnessed feeding frenzies on erring MPs in the past, the unanimity of opinion across the political spectrum is unusual and arguably unprecedented. Miller will surely have to go.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 19:14:25 +0000
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