Why Carmichael is everyone's problem

There is a growing narrative taking root that Alistair Carmichael's dishonesty is a matter for his constituents in Orkney & Shetland. Just about everyone seems to agree on this point.

But they're wrong.

This is a matter for the whole of the UK.

The memo was leaked on the 1st Apr, two days after Alistair Carmichael ceased to be an MP. Dissolution of Parliament means all MPs step down from their constituency posts and a general election is called. So there were no MPs in the whole UK at the time of the leak.

When Alistair Carmichael lied about his involvement with the leak, he was not an MP for Orkney & Shetland. In fact, the entire scandal - from making the leak to lying about the leak - was conducted while he was not an MP.

So why are people claiming that it's up to the people of Orkney & Shetland to deal with him?

If Alistair Carmichael wasn't an MP when any of this happened, does Parliament even have a right to question him on this? Yes they do - because he was still the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Even though Parliament dissolves and there are no longer any MPs, the Government does not dissolve; it continues to run the country. All ministers continue to be ministers until not just the result of the election is known but until a new government is formed (which allows for negotiations to take place in a hung parliament situation).

Alistair Carmichael was thus a member of the UK cabinet when he made the leak and when he lied about not making the leak. His role was as Secretary of State for Scotland; he was not an MP and was not the Orkney & Shetlands' representative.

Thus, it is a matter for the whole of the UK.

Alistair Carmichael's argument for not resigning is this: given he was not an MP during Frenchgate but was a Cabinet minister, then he should resign as a Cabinet minister. Given he'd already lost his Cabinet position, there is nothing more that can be done.

This implies that Alistair Carmichael is not naturally a decent person. It's only when a Code of Conduct applies to him will he behave honourably. During the scandal, only the Ministerial Code applied to him and he's essentially followed it by no longer being in the cabinet. The MP's Code didn't apply to him, so he will not do the honourable thing and resign.

So here we have the true Alistair Carmichael. He has no moral code of his own. It is only when someone else's code is forcibly applied to him will he behave in an honourable fashion.

And that is why Carmichael must go.