The Mother of Parliaments still cuts a lot of ice abroad. At home, however, its reputation for probity is waning as stories of financial misconduct multiply. The latest in a succession of revelations concerning money and politics (see table) involves Derek Conway, a Conservative mp who employed his son as a researcher at the taxpayer's expense. Hiring relatives is not illegal (though outrage is growing at the sheer number of mps who do it) but Mr Conway's son was a full-time university student at the time.
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