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Shall we have another MP expenses thread then?

Prince Rhyus said:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/a...money-sack-spivs-let-away--thieves-trial.html

Astonishing - I find myself agreeing with Peter Oborne i
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To his credit, Oborne has been substantially ahead of the curve with regards to this issue, and both of his books ("The Triumph of the Political Class" and "The Rise of Political Lying") contain a great deal of information on the subject that was (shamefully) suppressed by the lobby - not least of which the Elizabeth Filkin scandal which, as he rightly says, is both one of the most disgusting political stories of the past twenty years and one of the least well known.
 
Kitty Usher, another Welfare Minister is in the frame, 'darling i really don't like that awful artex claddding, its decidely Non U, can i have several thousands pounds to get rid of it?', meanwhile she sanctions benefit cuts for the poorest people in the UK.

what awful hypocrites...
 
agricola said:
Meanwhile, some perspective from the last wartime MP, whose death was announced today.
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In an interview with the BBC last month, he recalled being approached by a Tory MP who told him that his DFC ribbon was worn too wide.

Mr Millington added: "He was, I think, not expecting my reaction. 'If you are talking to me as an RAF officer: stand to attention; take your hand out of your trouser pocket and address a senior officer as Sir. If you are talking to me as a fellow Member of Parliament, mind your business and bugger off.'"​

Genius! :D
 
RE: Milllington, sounds like a great chap, looked at his autobiog on google books.

btw, Elizabeth Filkin,, the the parliamentary commissioner for standards awhile back was got rid of by the Parliamentary mafia when she was getting too close to corruption allegations
 
There needs to be a new set of rules. Expenses should be limited to no more than £20,000 including a second home allowance. MPs should only be allowed to have second jobs if money they earn is then removed from their MPs salary.
A lot of this story seems a giant red herring probably motivated by people annoyed at Labour bringing in the Freedom of Information act...
 
Prince Rhyus said:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090510/tuk-bid-to-dissolve-parliament-amid-row-6323e80.html

http://www.pressassociation.com/com...to_dissolve_parliament_amid_row?camefrom=home

Crikey - I know this is something that's been on various people's minds but to come from a member of the House of Lords...!
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He is right though - and if the MPs think that its bad now, imagine what will happen if (or rather when) they actually expose the person / people who leaked these reports.
 
TAE said:
"The Sunday Telegraph also reports second home claims by Sinn Fein MPs, who do not take their Commons seats."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8042261.stm

Now that is class.
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Since they refuse to take their seats at Westminster, taking the dosh to house themselves in London does seem a bit of a cheek.

However:

1. Their account of the expenses - that they visit London often as part of their political work and that the expenses are high because they include all utility bills and various housekeeping costs - seems perfectly plausible to me.

2. Even if the Irish Republicans are pulling a fast one, their core supporters will probably not object to Gerry & Marty etc ripping off the British state.




Some people earlier on the thread seemed to doubt that the Torygraph would expose Tory expense-grabbing. The Torygraph has indicated that it will publish more information about Tories in the coming days and I think that will happen. The Torygraph's editorial powers-that-be will find that their journalists' wish to publish a good story is closer to the core of their being than any allegiance to the Tory Party.



So far, the Labour Party has been much more damaged than opposition parties. That may change a little bit, I reckon, and lots of people will rehearse the view that all politicians are in it for themselves etc, but people are likely to continue to blame the government more than the opposition.
 
JHE said:
Some people earlier on the thread seemed to doubt that the Torygraph would expose Tory expense-grabbing. The Torygraph has indicated that it will publish more information about Tories in the coming days and I think that will happen. The Torygraph's editorial powers-that-be will find that their journalists' wish to publish a good story is closer to the core of their being than any allegiance to the Tory Party.
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As I said earlier, there could easily be a Brownite aspect to this that has not been widely considered - its surely notable that they have gone to the trouble of publishing an article which was probably dictated by No.10; and lets not forget that the Telegraph coverage at least has focused on Blairites and Tories (in that order), with only one or two Brown supporters (Tom Watson being one) included in the mix.
 
JHE said:
1. Their account of the expenses - that they visit London often as part of their political work and that the expenses are high because they include all utility bills and various housekeeping costs - seems perfectly plausible to me.
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That is a claim which needs investigating.

JHE said:
2. Even if the Irish Republicans are pulling a fast one, their core supporters will probably not object to Gerry & Marty etc ripping off the British state.
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Maybe not, but that's hardly a defence.
 
And that sly postie emerges stinking of roses again. I might put a tenner on him. I really might.

Three cabinet members in particular are singled out for their "modest" claims under the second homes allowance by the Telegraph. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband had only put in claims for £6,300 a year in rent for his constituency home and for utility and council tax bills. Health Secretary Alan Johnson rented a "modest" property but claimed for food and some furniture. Environment Secretary Hilary Benn claimed only £147.78 for food from the allowance which allows MPs to claim up to about £24,000 a year.
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Here come the Tory claims!!!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...drawn-into-expenses-scandal-MPs-expenses.html

The Telegraph Expenses Files on the shadow Cabinet disclose that:

* Michael Gove, the shadow education secretary, spent more than £7,000 in five months furnishing a London property in 2006 before “flipping” his second home designation to a new property he bought in Surrey. He then claimed more than £13,000 in stamp duty and other fees from his Parliamentary expenses for this property. Mr Gove’s behaviour surprised colleagues because the former journalist was only elected in 2005 and is close to Mr Cameron.

* Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, spent thousands of pounds renovating a thatched Tudor country cottage shortly before selling it. He redecorated inside and out with premium paint at a cost of £2,000 and re-shingled the driveway. He then “flipped” his expenses to a Georgian flat in London where he claimed for thousands of pounds in furnishings including a Laura Ashley sofa.

* Francis Maude, the shadow minister for the cabinet office, attempted to claim the mortgage interest on his family home in Sussex. This arrangement was rejected by the Fees Office. Two years later, Mr Maude bought a flat in London a few minutes walk from a house he already owned. He then rented out the other property and began claiming on the new flat: the taxpayer has since covered nearly £35,000 in mortgage interest payments.

* Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, claimed thousands of pounds to renovate a London flat 17 miles from his family home. Mr Grayling already owned three properties within the M25 but still bought the flat with loans subsidised by the taxpayer. He then claimed for work on the property for up to a year after it was carried out. This enabled him to claim close to the maximum amount allowable under the expenses system during different years.

* Cheryl Gillan, the shadow Welsh secretary, claimed for dog food on her expenses. Last night, she said that she would repay the money.
​
 
Whilst I was helping re-decorate our local primary school today with a bunch of other parents, because the school can't afford to pay proffesional decorators, I couldn't help musing over the interior decor of my MP's second home after he claimed £95,000 in 'additional costs' for it over the past five years. I wonder if he also had to call on unpaid volunteers to do the work.
 
scifisam said:
Does anyone know if the party leaders themselves are clean? I haven't seen them outed yet.
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Brown and the cleaner?

Forget the brother sharing the cleaner, that's a red herring. But why is Brown's other home, and Sarah's home, coming out of expenses rather than his salary? It isn't as if it's No. 10 we're talking about, which is a workplace.
 
We shouldn't forget that the majority of these M.P's have voted for and then supported and cheered on incredibly harsh and stringent benefit regimes and endorsed numerous 'campaigns' against 'benefit cheats' etc.

No Ifs, No Buts, they should face the same sort of rigour and penalties that many claimants have had to face, a, woman with learning difficulties just missing jail, comes to mind

They should be reminded of this many times, it should be 'getting closer' but who will do it?
 
Prince Rhyus said:
* Michael Gove, the shadow education secretary, spent more than £7,000 in five months furnishing a London property in 2006 before “flipping” his second home designation to a new property he bought in Surrey. He then claimed more than £13,000 in stamp duty and other fees from his Parliamentary expenses for this property. Mr Gove’s behaviour surprised colleagues because the former journalist was only elected in 2005 and is close to Mr Cameron.
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We can take some comfort that he bought at the peak of the property market, so he's probably taking a huge loss.

Oh wait... colour me cynical but please don't tell me we'll be on the hook for that as well?
 
danny la rouge said:
Brown and the cleaner?

Forget the brother sharing the cleaner, that's a red herring. But why is Brown's other home, and Sarah's home, coming out of expenses rather than his salary? It isn't as if it's No. 10 we're talking about, which is a workplace.
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Thanks. That actually doesn't sound as bad as most of the others; even though he did live in number ten at the time in his post as chancellor, he could have easily been moved out of that post in a reshuffle, so would need a London residence then (Scotland's a bit far to commute from). It's still pretty shit that he expects the taxpayer to clean his private home for him, but it's not a straightforward fiddle like the second home swapping stuff is.
 
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