MP's Expenses

[invisiblepiper]

I am for once gob smacked. . . and I feel really naive - I have just read through what our elected Mps have claimed for over and above their £140.000 salary - and it is truly unbelievable!
Check the telegraph site for yourselves - they can claim for more than many of us earn - £24,000 per annum.
I can't think of an expletive strong enough!
www.telegraph.co.uk/news

[StripyPixieSocks]

Yep while the good working people are struggling to put food on the table, shoes on their feet and petrol in their tanks these... <insert expletives here> are putting everything on their expenses... I wonder what exactly they spend their wages on seeing as almost everything is claimed in expenses these days.

Sickening, absolutely sickening and it will never change while it's not governed by a separate body.

They truly make me sick to my stomach!

[Masco&Bongo]

Why do you need expenses when you're paid £140,000 a year!?!

What can possibly cost £24,000 a year that you can't buy etc with a salary of £140k?

[Annpan]

There was a hilarious bit on newsnight a couple of weeks back when an MP was trying to justify his second home allowance by saying "yes but you don't understand, you have to be at parliament at a certain time, and you can't be late" and the host said "what? like a Job?"

I'll have to see if I can find it on youtube.

[Annpan]

There was a hilarious bit on newsnight a couple of weeks back when an MP was trying to justify his second home allowance by saying "yes but you don't understand, you have to be at parliament at a certain time, and you can't be late" and the host said "what? like a Job?"

I'll have to see if I can find it on youtube.

Here's the clip on the BBC site
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/q ... 967561.stm


It was 'question time' sorry

[Green Aura]

Sorry to get all lefty on you all (well actually that's not true ).

When I was politically active many moons ago, we used to call for elected representatives i.e. MPs, trade union reps etc to be paid no more than the average wage.

I don't think I'd be wrong in suggesting that's far less than £140k.

Ooooh I'm coming over all Trot again now - up the workers!

[Annpan]

Yup, and these are Labour MPs too... remember what the Labour party used to stand for?

[invisiblepiper]

I don't think Labour MPs are what they used to be - ie: moderate socialists. Keir Hardie would be having fits!
All parties are represented in this article - I would like to see a list of those who have not abused the system.

[Millymollymandy]

MP's should not travel such huge distances to work, have second homes when people are living on the poverty line and homeless

You want them to know their local area but think they shouldn't have a 2nd home. Quite how are you proposing that they commute to London every day then? And lots of people have 2nd homes who aren't MPs - are you suggesting they give up their 2nd homes too whilst there are poor people in the world? There always have been and always will be poor and homeless people, just like there always have been people who are rich, wealthy, well off or earning enough to get by without being poor. That's life.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

You want them to know their local area but think they shouldn't have a 2nd home. Quite how are you proposing that they commute to London every day then?

I've got an idea: take Buck House from Brenda and house the ratbags there. They could hardly complain that it wasn't convenient for work and they could run it on a co-operative basis with washing up rotas, taking it in turns to buy the milk, etc - a bit like the YHA.

The unashamed greed of some of these people - and I'm most impressed by millionaire Barbara Follet's brass necked cheek here - is awe inspiring. I'm not saying that thay shouldn't be well paid, but to be able to have outragous expenses on top AND be allowed to have another job is beyond the pale.

[oldfella]

Why are you all surprised, you must have realized that politicians are in the main, interested in power and will go to any lengths to achieve it, so they will tell you what you want hear and do the opposite, they will follow the Party Line until they find that you will not support them next time around so will change their policy, or dump the leader because he is "out of touch with the electorate" will because of our "Special relationship with the USA slavishly follow the dictates of America, so to find out that they fiddle their expense's should not come as a surpise to any of us.

PS I have never voted for any party, nor will I until decisions are made by polititains that are for the good of Mankind and not for Country or Party.

[Annpan]

Sorry Davey, I find it difficult to follow your train of thought through your posts.

Are you suggesting that we fire all the MPs that have taken advantage of this? That's a bit reactionary don't you think? because that would mean a general election tomorrow and if you were only allowed to stand if you had nothing to do with these claims in the past then there would be no politicians or civil servants anymore... which might be a good thing but it would leave us in a fair pickle.

This is all such a sham, and clearly they the politicians thought nothing of it until they were caught... which is truly disgraceful...

Here is a little bit of cheer, from the BBC website

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.

[hetty]

I just looked at a parliamentary website and found that ordinary MPs (i.e not cabinet ministers) actually earn £64,000 a year, the £140,000 is for cabinet ministers. I was shocked to see a news presenter person asked by an MP how much she earned to hear her say £92,000. I think that too many MPs have taken advantage of the allowances but I can see why people who are running the country (not saying they are necessarily doing it well) might feel a little underpaid.

[Green Aura]

I'm not sure MPs are underpaid, Hetty, but I sure as sh1t think news readers are overpaid if they get 92K

[StripyPixieSocks]

We worked out last night that we get £4576 / year because we are both disabled and on benefits... MP's get more 'allowances' than disabled people who are made to feel vilified and like scum for asking for a bit more money.

We manage (just) to pay bills, own a car and feed ourselves although we go without trips to the cinema and just about everything else people take for granted.

I think it's disgusting how the Government are telling us to tighten our belts while dipping their hand into public money for all manner of stupid things where do they suggest disabled people tighten their belts? around their necks?

On the other hand I notice two Policemen were sacked for abusing allowances lately so I have to say... sack the effing lot of them. Leave us in a pickle it may do but they seriously need disciplining for this not just paying back and telling us how they think it's awful... not quite so sheepish when they were claiming for non existent mortgages though were they?

A shower of ratb*stards the whole lot of them!