Russell and Carol - hayle and hearty

Simon Jenkins makes serveral sharp points in

• Sir Humphrey would never let his minister be ambushed by Gurkhas

  Simon Jenkins: Labour has landed in the shambles of the Lumley affair by shunning the civil service's wisdom, checks and balances

He draws a comparison between the success of the Gurkha's - finally - and the continued failure to provide justice for the Iraqui interpreters who were used knowing they were endangering themselves and their familes but that entitles them to no special considerations from us.  Done in our name.

But regarding the even bigger picture of the state of our governance and democracy I liked his point

What the Gurkha saga demonstrates is an extraordinary Whitehall decrepitude. The decision was a shambles. As with the YouTube U-turn on MPs' expenses, the affair of the 10p tax rate, the wavering over Sats tests and the U-turn on DNA data, British government appears no longer to work to any of the customarily checks and balances once built into even the most informal constitution.

Downing Street takes executive decisions as if it were an absolute monarch, but in looking-glass style. The sequence is first a headline, then a decision, then the reaction, then the consultation, then the Whitehall consideration and finally the U-turn. If ever there were a recipe for bad government this is it.

Simon Jenkins guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 May 2009 21.30 BST

zzzzThe arrogance that leads to treating governance in this manner is exactly of a piece with the attitude of the MPs who don't see why abiding by the Green Book rules is anything to do with them.

The principles are:

• Claims should be above reproach and must reflect actual usage of the resources being claimed.
• Claims must only be made for expenditure that it was necessary for a Member to incur to ensure that he or she could properly perform his or her parliamentary duties.
• Allowances are reimbursed only for the purpose of a Member carrying out his or her parliamentary duties. Claims cannot relate to party political activity of any sort, nor must any claim provide a benefit to a party political organisation.
• It is not permissible for a Member to claim under any parliamentary allowance for anything that the Member isclaiming from any other source.
• Members must ensure that claims do not give rise to, or give the appearance of giving rise to, an improper personal financial benefit to themselves or anyone else.
• Members are committed to openness about what expenditure has been incurred and for what purposes.
• Individual Members take personal responsibility for all expenses incurred, for making claims and for keeping records, even if the administration of claims is delegated by them to others.
• The requirement of ensuring value for money is central in claiming for accommodation, goods or services – Members should avoid purchases which could be seen as extravagant or luxurious.
• Claims must be supported by documentary evidence, except where the House has agreed that such evidence is not necessary.

These principles recognise that, in the nature of our democratic system, Members will wish to explain their views about policies. However, public money must not be used to give unfair political advantage to one political party, and for this reason there are specific controls on particular allowances.

The Green Book
A guide to Members’ allowances

It's also of a piece with the arrogance of the banking 'profession' who knew better than having to follow 'rules' we have a political 'profession' who similarly find themselves above such everyday cares.