But there’s also something equally conniving going on here. Amidst all the fine words and spin in the press and Parliament, there’s an even bigger con going on in front of our very eyes. It’s the old “one bad apple” lie all over again. A few MPs have been suspended, the Speaker has resigned, the others are rushing to apologise. We confidently expect to see one or two being chucked out of the House of Commons. The Speaker has been vilified. Now there will be a collective effort by the party leaders to tell us everything will be sorted out.

In the meantime our eyes have been dragged away from the real problems that face us. Working people are still losing their jobs. One third of companies have imposed pay freezes. Repossessions are mounting. In other parts of the world wars continue to rage. Children continue to die of preventable diseases. Starvation is rife. All these are not caused by a few greedy men (and women) in suits. These are the symptoms of an economic system that exists simply to make profit, to buy and sell, to accumulate capital.

Anger is mounting with the way capital is playing games with our lives. Spectacles like the MPs expenses scandal are loved by the establishment because they turn our eyes away from this reality. When the Speaker has gone, when a couple of MPs have been locked up, we’ll still be living in a capitalist world. The politicians will still be there. The state will remain. Our fight will continue.