There’s a whole system of power that needs to change here, writes Jonathan Maunders

The Tories will not face charges for breaching expenses rules during the 2015 election, the Crown Prosecution Service has announced, despite examining files from 14 different police forces and ‘evidence to suggest the returns may have been inaccurate’.

The CPS Head of Special Crime unit Nick Vamos attempted to explain away this decision by stating that he did not believe that charging the Tory MPs concerned was in the public interest.

Yet how can a case potentially undermining the current democratic mandate of the government as it seeks to be re-elected not be seen as in the public interest?

In the middle of a heated election campaign in which Theresa May is trying to present her party as one of stability and security, major developments seemingly revealing the contrary have been abandoned.

The fact that the Tories’ expenses returns were significantly inaccurate simply illustrates the lengths they will go to secure elected power in this country.

Leading Tory MPs have already been quick to label the investigation as a ‘witch hunt’ and the CPS statement as vindication, conveniently oblivious to the fact Vamos’ statement falls short of such a judgment.

However, to the wider public, the closure of this investigation will merely consolidate the view that the Tories are only interested in preserving their own power and that they are totally out of touch with the rest of society.

It is important that Jeremy Corbyn grasps this notion and uses the unsatisfactory statement from the CPS to illustrate the gulf between the establishment and his own radical vision for the future of the country.

The left should use this outcome to ensure the Conservative Party is revealed for what it is, the merely visible part of establishment power. Voting it out of office on May 8th will only be a start of the change we need.