As elected representatives of the people, MPs are supposed to be upstanding pillars of the communities they serve, behaving with honesty and integrity.
But it appears the country’s politicians are struggling to uphold the rules when it comes to returning library books on time.
More than 1,200 books have been overdue in the House of Commons library over the past two years, with 18 titles more than a year late for return, a freedom of information request has revealed.
The most overdue book, British Democracy and Irish Nationalism 1876-1906, by the historian Eugenio Biagini, is 903 days – more than two and a half years – late for return.
Biagini, a professor in modern and contemporary history at the University of Cambridge, urged the culprit to return the book or buy another copy. “Insofar as any wider significance can be looked into from this episode, which is rather amusing, people are now starting to consider the Irish connection in British history and identity more seriously than they used to,” he said.
Prof Tamara Hervey, of the University of Sheffield’s school of law, whose book European Union Health Law is the second most overdue at 558 days, said: “I am delighted that our MPs are informing themselves about the myriad complex ways that leaving the EU will be bad for health and the NHS. If or when we leave the EU, I hope it can play a part in securing a ‘least worst’ Brexit for health.”
She added that if the MP who had yet to return the book were to identify themselves she would grant them a free copy.
One MP has perhaps been gearing up for Brexit debates by reading The Art of War, an ancient Chinese military treatise by the high-ranking general Sun Tzu. The book, which is 376 days overdue, chronicles a series of different aspects of warfare.
Other very overdue books include Practical Performance Measurement, a “step-by-step blueprint to overcome the common struggles” with key performance indicators by Stacey Barr, which was 532 days late before being returned in June 2018.
One MP is clearly a fan of the historian David Starkey as they were 487 days late before returning his book Magna Carta: The True Story Behind the Charter, which explores the charter of rights and its influence on modern Britain.
Meanwhile, there may be a Donald Trump fan hiding in parliament who failed to take back Ann Coulter’s In Trump We Trust: How He Outsmarted the Politicians, the Elites and the Media before it was finally returned after 336 days.
Although the House of Commons library does not charge MPs for overdue books, it does impose a £20 fee if they lose them. In 2018, £1,060 was charged, of which £460 was subsequently refunded to MPs who had misplaced books including the former chancellor Alistair Darling’s Back from the Brink and Roger Scruton’s How to Be a Conservative.
Others include Sex, Lies and the Ballot Box: 50 Things You Need to Know About British Elections by Philip Cowley and How to Be an MP by the veteran Labour backbencher Paul Flynn. Flynn told the Guardian: “The book advocates a standard of conduct of the highest order. There is rightfully much shock that it is so popular amongst those whose morality allows the stealing of such a trivial amount.”
Separately, MPs can be charged higher amounts for lost books obtained on interlibrary loans.
For books lost from both the House of Commons library and via interlibrary loans, the highest amount charged to a single MP in 2015-16 was £216.32, in 2016-17 it was £56.80, in 2017-18 it was £49 and so far this financial year it is £80.
The House of Commons refused to name and shame individual MPs, citing GDPR regulations.
A parliament spokeswoman said that while there had been more than 1,200 books overdue between 2016 and 2018, there were currently only 128 overdue items and that just half of those were over a month overdue. “We always welcome our customers returning their books on time, but our priority is helping MPs and their staff get the information they need to do their jobs, both through access to the 228,000 items in our collection, and through providing impartial research and analysis,” she added.
The spokeswoman also pointed out that the library was not solely used by MPs, with their staff and House of Commons employees also able to take books out.
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