Why are Members of Parliament so greedy?
17/05/09 12:53 Filed in: Personal
Why are members of Parliament so greedy? I’m serious...
I love the fact that they are hiding behind the concept that they didn’t break the roles (just bend them like a wet stick) by claiming for just about anything they felt like.
They are missing the point.
The fact that’s enraging the British public is that fact that MP’s are making the claims in the first place. Previously, MP’s salaries were kept private. The fact is that we all know that anyone in the cabinet or a senior member of the political party of their choice is going to be paid OVER £100,000 a year.
So if you are on that income, why do you think it is justifiable to claim EVEN more tax payer money purchasing items that the rest of the population not only consider luxury items, but also matters of personal choice.
For example, just how can £2,000 on a flat screen television be justified when a £100 shows the same program. The fact that ALL the cost of the TV for anybody else would come out of their salary doesn’t appear to dent the zealous nature to which MP’s seem to have claimed for just about everything. Mortgage payments, interest on loans and even food!
It’s no wonder Hazel Blears has the ability to drop a cheque down for £13k when the rest of us would struggle; she’s simple got no domestic expenses to pay and her salary should be considered to be total profit.
All of which means that her £100k+ salary is actually closer to £160k if you include all the expenses that she and MP’s like her claim.
The whole thing absolutely disgusts me and I think something dramatic needs to happen to put an end to this gravy train. At present they are all trying to come up with new ‘rules’ as to how to pay expenses.
But the solution is just blatantly simple.
In my mind this would be the only way we could guarantee that those individuals who puts themselves forward to represent us in Parliament are doing it for purely valid reasons and not to get themselves on the expenses gravy train.
It’s telling that a number of prominent MP’s who had valid cause to have chosen to claim expenses chose not too. Perhaps we should keep those individuals as MP. And as for those who claimed for absolutely anything they could get away with; lets make sure they loose their seats.
I love the fact that they are hiding behind the concept that they didn’t break the roles (just bend them like a wet stick) by claiming for just about anything they felt like.
They are missing the point.
The fact that’s enraging the British public is that fact that MP’s are making the claims in the first place. Previously, MP’s salaries were kept private. The fact is that we all know that anyone in the cabinet or a senior member of the political party of their choice is going to be paid OVER £100,000 a year.
So if you are on that income, why do you think it is justifiable to claim EVEN more tax payer money purchasing items that the rest of the population not only consider luxury items, but also matters of personal choice.
For example, just how can £2,000 on a flat screen television be justified when a £100 shows the same program. The fact that ALL the cost of the TV for anybody else would come out of their salary doesn’t appear to dent the zealous nature to which MP’s seem to have claimed for just about everything. Mortgage payments, interest on loans and even food!
It’s no wonder Hazel Blears has the ability to drop a cheque down for £13k when the rest of us would struggle; she’s simple got no domestic expenses to pay and her salary should be considered to be total profit.
All of which means that her £100k+ salary is actually closer to £160k if you include all the expenses that she and MP’s like her claim.
The whole thing absolutely disgusts me and I think something dramatic needs to happen to put an end to this gravy train. At present they are all trying to come up with new ‘rules’ as to how to pay expenses.
But the solution is just blatantly simple.
- You convert the currently quarter used Old Admiralty Building near Horse Guards Parade into accommodation for MP’s. It’s not as though the area isn’t ‘secure’ enough and conversion costs (if kept to 4* hotel standards) would be LESS than a year of MP expenses.
- Only allow travel costs as expenses. The rest would be provided by the ‘Hotel’. Food, TV’s etc. etc. etc.
In my mind this would be the only way we could guarantee that those individuals who puts themselves forward to represent us in Parliament are doing it for purely valid reasons and not to get themselves on the expenses gravy train.
It’s telling that a number of prominent MP’s who had valid cause to have chosen to claim expenses chose not too. Perhaps we should keep those individuals as MP. And as for those who claimed for absolutely anything they could get away with; lets make sure they loose their seats.
