UK NEWS

MPS WANT 'NO STRINGS' £23,000

BLAIR: £10,000 kitchen refit

Wednesday May 28,2008

By Gabriel Milland, Political Correspondent

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(12)

MPs are planning to avoid embarrassing revelations over their expenses – by awarding themselves a “no strings attached” £23,000 handout.

The move is likely to be the key recommendation of a committee chaired by Commons Speaker Michael Martin into the long list of scandals associated with MPs’ perks.

Instead of claiming item-by-item for the so-called Additional Costs Allowance, which is supposed to help MPs to finance a second home, they would simply receive a cheque for the maximum amount.

It would also mean that the public would again not be able to discover how their money was being spent.

When 14 MPs were finally forced to publish details of their claims last week, it emerged that Tony Blair claimed £112 to get council workmen to clear his garage and spent £10,000 refitting the kitchen of his Sedgefield constituency home in County Durham. Gordon Brown claimed £32 for lightbulbs and £99 for a subscription to Sky television

Former Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett tried to claim £1,920 for a new pergola and plants for her home. But Commons finance staff thought this was excessive and disallowed £600 for plants from the bill.

Health Minister Ann Keen, MP for Brentford and Isleworth, and her husband, Alan Keen, who represents next-door Feltham and Heston, used £175,000 of taxpayers’ cash to pay for a £500,000 flat as a second home – despite both their seats being less than 15 miles from the Commons. They also claimed for life assurance premiums.

Following a High Court ruling, all MPs’ claims under the Additional Costs Allowance will be released this autumn.

This raises the prospect of the Commons authorities having to produce as much as a million pages of documentation revealing in detail how public money is spent by MPs on mortgage payments, utility bills and renovations.

If a simple lump sum payment were made to all MPs, the need for these documents would disappear and there would be a considerable cash boost for the many MPs who currently claim less than the full £23,000 permitted.

The Members Estimate Committee launched its review of the system after the row over former Tory MP Derek Conway paying his son from the public purse for apparently little work.

Last night it was also claimed that MPs are seeking a rise of as much as £13,000 in their basic pay, taking a backbencher’s salary from £61,820 to about £75,000.

A review by the ex-chairman of the Senior Salaries Review Body Sir John Baker is expected to produce proposals to end the system of MPs voting their own rises.

WHY GIVE IT TO THEM NOW?

30.05.08, 12:15am

Don't give this lot anymore money,they have not reaches their targets.
Keep the money as an incentive for the right people to stand the next time around,2010 (or before)

• Posted by: Maggie • Report Comment

IS THIS WHY WE HAVE NO HOPERS?

28.05.08, 8:27pm

Its a good idea to raise MPs pay dramatically, perhaps then after 2010 we can attract high quality people instead of lying cheats of the Blair and Brown model. However it must be after the election, there is no way the present New Labour shower should benefit, wait till they are gone.

• Posted by: LafyorSocksoff1 • Report Comment

EXISTING RULES NULL AND VOID.........

28.05.08, 4:07pm

Let and Uncorruptable Independent Body.acting on behalf of the electorate, redraft a new set of rules allowing only necessities, that should do away with the gravy train crowd, all of them, then perhaps from somewhere people will be elected who have this country and its people as their priority and not themselves.
A tall order, of course it is but we must remind ourselves,and them ,that they are PUBLIC SERVANTS not the masters ,its the MASTERS who are fed up with being ripped off.

• Posted by: Maggie • Report Comment

WHAT A SURPRISE £23K

28.05.08, 3:00pm

Its time the speaker of the house decide to give the Job to someone else he is associated with overpaid expenses and cant control himself when our money is available. perhaps thie money to be used to set up this carbon allownace thing could be used to fund this extra £23k., or we could just vote them out the civil servants run the government anyway so who needs parasites like these, anyway how can these peolple be associated with the public when they are a step apart politics is a very in bred system and ha embarrassment

• Posted by: daiboyo • Report Comment

SNOUTERS

28.05.08, 2:11pm

In any sane country these parasitical criminals would be prosecuted for stealing but unfortunately we live in a third rate land run by third rate politicians and policed by third rate Chiefs of Police.
This once great country has been brought to its knees by Nu Liebour but I cannot see that cretin Cameron being much better and as for calamity Clegg forget it.

• Posted by: Col • Report Comment