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Expensive Expenses
5th June 2009
It has been going on for almost a month and I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. The slow and painful revelations of MPs’ expenses by The Daily Telegraph have been nothing short of a miracle for people power in this country. Finally, it would seem, the secretive lives of those who are elected by us to Westminster is being blown open for all to see.
Both Bill Wiggin, the Tory MP for Leominster, and Paul Keetch, the Lib Dem MP for Hereford, claimed the full Additional Costs Allowance of £23,083 on top of their parliamentary duties salary of £64,766 making an annual total of £87,849 each. Neither MP appeared phased by the expenses revelations by The Daily Telegraph. Paul Keetch commented: “MPs who live away from London do need accommodation there, and it is right that money should be made available to allow them to do this.”
Perhaps what we should find most concerning is the incumbent Chancellor’s service charge of £1,004 for his flat in south London. The £1,004 was covered for by Parliamentary expenses, but the flat was being let to tenants whilst Darling was also claiming living allowances for his grace-and-favour home at Number 11. Despite Darling’s initial refute of the Telegraph’s evidence, the Chancellor has now agreed to pay back the service charge.
There is now speculation that another member of the Labour Party should succeed Darling as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Yvette Cooper said that the position of Chancellor was “a matter for the PM” and Margaret Beckett, one of the few remaining MPs who served in the Labour governments of the 1970s, said also it was “a matter for the PM of the day.” On Radio Five Live on Monday June 1st, Harriet Harman further added to the uncertainty over which MPs were going to stay by the end of the week: “We don't know who's going to stay in government.” Vince Cable, the Lib Dem Treasury Spokesman, and leader of Lib Dems, Nick Clegg, both renewed calls for Darling to be removed as Chancellor. This comes as the Chancellor was exposed as a “serial flipper” who has designated four homes as his official second home in four years. At best this is beating the system and at worst this is defrauding the electorate.