Standards Mess

One of the many ways in which the current government is messing up local democracy is its changes to the standards system, covered here.  I think the system as reformed in 2008 was broadly correct, although there were still problems with it.  Many of the complaints in the system were undoubtedly vexatious and often simply an expression of partisan or personal spite.  In the Bertha Joseph case, the investigation took far too long.  However, I think the main problem in her case was that the Mayor of London undermined the judgement by handing out a post on LFEPA to suit his own political convenience.  He didn't seem to suffer much political damage as a result.