Vote for Heather Brooke: Reformer of the year

As MPs continue to defy the findings of Sir Thomas Legg’s enquiry, Left Foot Forward is urging readers to show their displeasure with Britain’s parliamentarians by voting for Heather Brooke (@newsbrooke) as Reformer of the Year.

Ms Brooke is a Freedom of Information campaigner who, according to Reform, “played a leading role in the MPs’ expenses saga, winning a High Court case against the House of Commons for the full disclosure of second homes allowances. The ruling was the driving force behind the resulting reform of the Parliamentary expense system.” She runs the Your Right to Know website. The closing date for the annual award is 31 October 2009.

Writing for Progress, Labour Councillor Theo Blackwell, says:

“One person who deserves much more public recognition than she has received so far for her work is Freedom of Information campaigner and journalist Heather Brooke …

“If the state currently hands out honours to those who have dedicated service for the public good, then the first on their list should be those journalists who - like Brooke – asked the right questions and, in the best traditions that people on the Left have campaigned for, didn’t let up when faced with bureaucratic denial.”

MPs continue to miss the public mood with Labour MP Alan Simpson refusing to hand back £500 in “excessive” cleaning charges while the Mail reports that Jacqui Smith is refusing to repay a £1,500 bill which Sir Thomas Legg has demanded she hand back to taxpayers. Meanwhile, Bill Etherington MP was embarrassed on BBC Newsnight for opposing retrospective legislation of the kind that he had supported.