Making Them Squirm
Parliament has bowed to pressure and published details of every MP’s expenses claimed from the taxpayer going back quite some time. They’ve blacked out things like addresses, phone numbers, bank account numbers and other understandable things, but it’s still fascinating to see how my MP has claimed £2.20 for teabags and biscuits from Tesco (several times), as well as for hot chocolate (presumably for someone in his company) and guidebooks to Parliament from kiosks within the Palace of Westminster. No doubt these things will be pored over by interested constituents that will then take up the issue when their MP graces a community hall with his presence. They can’t be waiting for that day very anxiously. Thing is, though – I do believe the public has a right to know. I also happen to believe that costs of conducting the business of being a Member of Parliament are fair to claim, including for a residence outside one’s own constituency. But us normal folk have to make improvements to our houses with our own salaries. They really should too.
I’m just waiting for someone to discover a thing that would have needed blacking out but happened to be overlooked. It’s bound to happen, what with several thousand pages of this stuff. The BBC has a service up where you can search by region or postcode in addition to the name, as well as handy notes about what has come to light about specific MPs’ activities. The now-ousted Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, claimed in his final speech that he had tried to reform the expenses system but MPs (their noses too deep in the taxpayer trough) had prevented him from doing so. Remember, though, that this is the same Michael Martin (right honourable and all that) who tried to blow the crisis over when the Daily Telegraph initially broke the story. No doubt there was an element of initial hushing by the MPs a year ago, but maybe they should shift from the blame game to serious reform instead of this resignation circus.