Usually the attention-grabbing Keith Vaz is cheered by constituents when he takes to the stage at the annual Diwali light switch-on in Leicester. This year he skulked at the back and was booed by the home crowd. Vaz is clinging to his position on the Justice select committee despite potentially breaking a law he helped draft. He retains the Labour whip and still sits on the party’s NEC despite consorting with prostitutes and trying his hand at procuring drug deals. Corbyn has defended Vaz – who is the subject of a police investigation – claiming it is a “private matter”. 

Compare this to the treatment of Simon Danczuk, a single man who sexted a woman but didn’t meet her let alone break any laws, and was immediately suspended by Labour. At the time Corbyn told the press: “He was suspended this morning because of recent revelations. His conduct will now be investigated”. This is a glaring double standard – the only real reason action has been taken against Danczuk but not Vaz is their differing attitudes to the leader.

As Tory MP Edward Garnier told the Leicester Mercury today: 

“This is the justice select committee – it is not the drawing pins committee or the paperclips committee. It is not appropriate for an MP under investigation by the police to be on the committee.”

Meanwhile Arron Banks says he is considering running candidates against corrupt MPs, taking inspiration from Trump’s call to “drain the swamp”. Starting in Leicester East…