As politicians defend their expenses as being within current rules, there continue to be revelations as to exactly how much and what they are entitled to claim within the existing rules covering allowances.
The one thing for certain is that for too long they have been able to take huge benefit and financial recompense for many things that the rest of society, who work pay taxes and have to fund their own life, are not able to claim for. The luxuries appointed by the MPs to themselves for themselves seems to have progressed from the times when MPs were the landed gentry who had all the power and influence they needed to run the country along the lines of how they saw it. The people wearing the political coats may have changed but the coat still seems to be the same.
Now as the heat begins to rise and details of how and what they have been claiming they suddenly want to clear the air and say things must change or take the other side of the coin and arrogantly claim to have done nothing wrong, only acting within the rules.
This is only about expenses they claim and does not include how much they earn outside of their MP role performing other jobs.
The rules have been made by them for their own benefit because, unlike every other case, they are open to the privilege of making their own rules and policing themselves.
The prime minister has stated that it is all part of “the system” and it is somehow not their fault. Like this is someone else’s fault and they only found out about this by accident. A bit like the credit crunch after years of hearing the word ‘prudence’ at budget time. A big boy must have done it ran away before we knew what was going on.
It appears that there may be ”reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence may have been committed” following on from an alleged leak, more like someone or other has got a bit fed up with the depth of the trough. As a result the Metrolpolitan Police have been “asked to consider the matter”. Lets see how this one is no crimed or who’s head goes onto the scapegoat block over this. Being in the public interest is clearly not within their allowance criteria.
Rest assured that they will have known exactly what they are entitled to claim under their own allowances rules. Also rest assured that they will have claimed what they can because it is within their own rules.
There is also likely to be one or two abstainers from this expenses claims fiasco who will not have claimed all they might be able to, this should be recognised.
But, and it is a big but, far too many appear to be claiming for things that should really not be under the rules of their expenses. Some appear to have no conscience in claiming and show a complete disregard with their arrogant swaggering and smug defiance to public opinion. Some of the televised MPs do not seem to show any remorse for claiming what they do and spit in the eye of decency.
Their ‘entitlements’ may be within their own appointed rules but it simply downright greedy and selfish and paints every MP in a very bad light.
The rules have been passed on from generation to generation in political terms with few ever appearing to have real jobs or live in the real world. They enter a world of privilege and are only ever held accountable once every 5 years at the ballot box. At the same time they force workforce modernisation and expect every other decent working person to trust their decisions and abide by their rules whilst at the same time the cream off expenses out of the public purse with no conscience, come back or the same accountability they expect everyone else to display.
To try to blame it on “the system”, a system that they are all clearly aware of, is both hypocritical and deceitful.
Trust them ? I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire.
Buckle your belts boys and girls, it could be a bumpy ride.
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Our ‘leaders’ or as I prefer to call them, ‘The Thieves of Westminster’. In the past as you say, the vast majority of MPs had a private income and no ‘proper’ jobs, they acted as MPs to represent their areas, to protect their family’s interests. Some famously, were extremely altruistic. As the money has moved away from such people, and it’s harder nowadays to run a family business along the lines of the pre-industrialised past and have time for a spot of altruistic country running. The original rules for entitlements stem back to those times when the some of the poorer cousins from out of town probably didn’t have any income except what they earned as MPs, which then, was not a lot. As the times have changed, the rules haven’t and I think that the standard of person, standing in the Houses of Parliament, is graphically shown by how far they have shoved their noses into the trough..
If I claim expenses to go on a course it is scrutinised by 2 different people before being authorised. Then after a couple of months it is finally paid. These are extras such a fuel which exceeds my normal 8 mile drive to work. No coffee, bog roll holder or cleaners for my house.
I know that I have fitted a new plug to my house and don’t subscribe to porn tv. (It’s free on the interweb!).
It’s all fucked and I want to know how the Telegraph justified paying £300.000 pounds for the info, allegedly.
Regards, a non bent copper.
They’re saying it’s the fault of the system, not them. The same way we all live.
All this business of switching houses, varying claims, living in caravans, siblings rooms etc – nonsense. It’s a concerted and deliberate attempt to take as much money as possible from the public purse, the taxes we pay.
I’d like to see my taxes paying for their prison accommodation instead, next 10 years will do.
Not enough lamposts ……….
I’m with joe …
Why can’t they adopt the Scottish parliament method – since it started, their expenses have been available to public view. It doesn’t stop them sticking their noses in the trough, but it does mean they get regularly pilloried for doing so!
“The people wearing the political coats may have changed but the coat still seems to be the same.”
The difference is that back in the day MPs paid for their own metaphorical coat from their private incomes; they didn’t have the temerity to claim for it.
I’d like to draw a deeply depressing comparison with the thread over on Bystander’s blog at the moment about the recent reduction in magistrates’ mileage allowances. In brief, we’ve had our allowance cut in line with the recent drop in petrol prices – you may say, Fair enough, and who can blame you? But in the context of the legion of MPs who claim to be ‘fiddling’ within the rules and hence completely legally, and presumably while Rome burns, it just seems to me to be yet another example of the ‘do as I say but I’ll do as I like’ culture which epitomises the attitude of our alleged leaders toward the people they’re supposed to serve. Never mind that it’s JPs’ allowances, it’ll be all of you next! For crying out loud can’t we all just form a new political party here and now please……..