My friend Rowan (Jail Fraudulent Banksters)puts it this way:

"When an MP makes a false claim for expenses, which involves dishonesty, they commit a crime. For this they should be charged and appear in a criminal court and face trial by a jury.That is the only way that Common Law countries can determine what is accepted as a public determination of the meaning of the word 'dishonesty'. That is vital, because we punish the dishonesty of a particular action, not necessarily the action itself! When the actions of the dishonest powerful elites are not punished it sends the wrong message to the non-elites that anything is permissible, and then we revert to anarchy. I am happy to see a few MP's swinging from the lamp posts, although I would prefer to see them doing a bit of time in Ford! For these people, being convicted of a common law crime of dishonesty, places them among the great unwashed, and they can never return to public life. We can discuss Chris Huhne if you like on another occasion, but trust me, his crime is not viewed by society in the same way as a crime of dishonesty, sadly but it is true!"