“Everything I did was within the rules.” Bleat, bleat, bleat. “It’s not me, it’s the system.” Zebu, Zebu, Zebu.
MP after MP has uttered a variant of these pathetic excuses, whining that their own expense claims did not infringe the 36-page Green Book, which sets out what MPs can claim for.
But have all our MPs conducted [...]
As Christmas is approaching, we thought we should mark the season. Given the growing number of MPs opposing reform of “the system” that they blamed for getting themselves into so much hot water this year, we thought a charity appeal on behalf of unloved MPs might be just the ticket. If you’ve arrived here from [...]
Many MPs have blamed “the system” for the mess they find themselves in over expenses. They give the impression that what Gordon Brown called “the biggest parliamentary scandal for two centuries” appeared from out of the blue. If only they’d known what was going on, they’d have helped put a stop to it; but whoever’s [...]
The trousering of our money by most MPs pales beside the payoff to Glasgow City Council’s former head of education, Margaret Doran, whose redundancy package – despite only being in the job since 2007 – comes to a whopping £278,000.
According to the Evening Times, she was made redundant because her department was broken up. She’s [...]
Doesn’t it seem odd that MPs are being told to pay back money claimed on cleaning or gardening while those who had their snouts deepest in the trough, flipping the designation of their main home to avoid paying Capital Gains Tax or to wring the maximum possible from the poor taxpayer, get off Scot free?
Yet [...]
Remember a few months back when BBC presenter Carrie Gracie was interviewing Lord George Foulkes about MPs’ expenses and he demanded to know how much she was paid? To everyone’s suprise, she admitted on air that her salary was £92,000.
What a shame that after she showed him hers, she didn’t ask to see his. For [...]
Over a third of MPs have now repaid money they had previously claimed on expenses. Some £637,000 has gone back into the government’s leaky coffers. According to The Daily Telegraph, the figure is set to rise still further.
As for those MPs grumbling that Sir Thomas Legg is introducing retrospective legislation, leading barrister Lord Pannick says [...]
“Paying up is almost an admission that you’ve done something wrong. Most people aren’t going to write a cheque if you don’t believe you’ve done wrong.” – Geraldine Smith, Labour.
“He [Sir Thomas Legg] has introduced new rules retrospectively, he has introduced caps retrospectively and that is against fairness and the rules of natural justice.” Sir [...]
Compare and contrast
Ian Clement, ex-deputy mayor of London. Claimed three meals with his girlfriend on expenses. Total cost £156.
Result? A 12-week suspended sentence and 100 hours’ community service.
Jacqui Smith, ex-Home Secretary. Put two adult films on expenses, not, apparently a “one-off” claim. Claimed £116,000 from the taxpayer for a house that turned out to be [...]
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