Stephen Fry and Lembit Opik

Until yesterday Stephen Fry was on his way to National Treasure status, then as he was doorstepped by a reporter on the way to an award ceremony he decided to give us all a lecture about how we were all being petit bourgeois about the abuse of expenses and should grow up and realize that there are far more important issues to concern ourselves with.

Yes there are important issues but none is more important in my view than how we are governed. We have an quaint system of government based upon a few written documents and historical tradition and this lack of definition means that there has to be a strong bond of trust between the governors and the governed. If that is broken (and it has been) how can we have any confidence that the big issues like the economy and efficient delivery of public services?

I have always seen Lembit Opik as a slightly weird but engaging eccentric. Good on UFOs, Weather Women and Cheeky Girls and good for a chuckle on "Have I got News for You". Oh well, today on Simon Mayo's show he came across as humourless and self-regarding as he tried to defend the right of MPs to keep this information secret.