if there is one thing which can unite Labour and Tory politicians this week, it's the hope that the Daily Telegraph doles it out to the LibDems too. And it looks as if they are not going to disappoint. Twelve LibDem MPs are being fingered by the Telegraph tomorrow. The BBC has just reported that St Ives MP Andrew George is among those featured, and that Nick Clegg has paid back £80 of phone calls which should not have been claimed.
But what strange news judgement that the BBC ignored the biggest story of all - that Sir Ming Campbell claimed £10,000 to pay an interior designer to advise on the redecoration of his London flat. And not only that. He also claimed Roman blinds worth £528.75, five cushions costing £176.25, four bedside shelves totalling £1,420, as well as tie hangers, bulbs, a laundry basket, and extension cable costing £66.90.
Five cushions for £176.25!!! What were they filled with? Dodo feathers?
43 comments:
Sadly the revelations aren’t of the same scale as Labour and Tory, the Andrew George thing hasn’t got legs.
It might help if you could read his hand writing to the fees office justifying the claim.
Perhaps he should claim for a word processor as well!
I look forward to your defence of all those Lib Dems you think have been wronged.
Bet they've got good lawyers, eh?
The Liberal Democrats always plumb the depths - they are a rotten party that is as corrupt as Westminster MP's expenses.
Clegg has failed to do anything about the Michael Brown donation, which was money fraudulently taken, stolen from people in a deception.
Clegg said the money was taken in 'good faith' - Hmmm, Don't some of the Dodgy MP's and Peers say the same? Besides the people who had their money stolen and given to the LD's, invested in Michael Brown in Good Faith.
Clegg should return that donation and do something about the sleaze in his party!
Clegg = Yellow and no backbone!
Clegg has tried to get on a media bandwagon of "Apology" yet at the very heart of the Liberal Democrats they fail to acknowledge that the £2 Million Plus donation should be repaid by Liberal Democrats.
This shows that Nick Clegg MP plays a cynical and stupid game that is transparent and shows the stinking edifice beneath his leadership.
Please look at picture to see what i mean!
http://tinyurl.com/cz3ewc
Liberal Democrat Expenses and the failure to return the Michael Brown donation are two cheeks of the same Arse firmly implented in in the sleazy swill bucket of Westminister!
Andrew George, the MP for St Ives, claims £847 a month from taxpayers on mortgage interest payments for a riverside flat used by his daughter.
A 21 year old professional model.
I wonder if The Sun will bother running with this one?
From reading the Telegraph article I'm pretty sure all the things you've listed here were included in the £10,000, not in addition to it.
And there was me about to suggest that Sir Ming Campbell should be the next Speaker. Damn.
The Dodo feathers line had me rolling!
Don't know if you saw Gord on Sky just now. His defence of his cleaner: "No, it was a PROFESSIONAL cleaner!"
Tom Bradby was interesting on ITV - he says that he understands that the Telegraph are running the worst offenders on Thursday.
.... I suspect that this means the husband and wife MP's. Thus we get Ed Balls served up on plate, with a couple of others.
Damn and I was just thinking about Ming Campbell for the new speaker position....
What a shock. The BBC ignoring the Lib Dems expenses. Newsnight is a joke.
Paxman seems pissed off that his favourite one eyed snot eater is playing catch up.
On the related subject of second jobs, which labour have hopes of skewering Tories --- Guido remarks on a tetchy TV interview by Labours Lord Faulkes and points out that he earns the following ---
House of Lords: claimed £54,441 in allowances for 94 days attendance (£579/day)
Earns £36,000 as a Parliamentary Consultant to Eversheds LLP for 36 days work (£1000/day)
Claimed £3061.17 in allowances from the Scottish Parliament between April 2008 and March 2009
Salary for a Member of the Scottish Parliament £56,671.
Lots of jobs there !
The Michael Brown saga means that the libdems are still spending money which is not theirs and Labour have still not paid back Abrahams money.
The true extent on libdem problems should wait until the full story is revealed. But Sir Ming certainly has style.
Rather disapointed in Ming, he's on of the Lib Dem's I have held in respect
Do any of the Lib Dems own a moat?
The Fib Dems aren't the only minor parties with their snouts in the trough.
According to the Telegraph, Alex Salmond “in the 2007/08 financial year, which covers the period between the end of March 2007 and the start of April 2008, he voted on only six days in the Commons.
However, he still claimed £1,751.50for food, or more than a third of the maximum allowed for the entire 12 months.” (source Scottish Uniobnist blog)
I'm surprised he's not 31 stone.
The cost of cushions, like curtains, never ceases to amaze me.
No really!
Lembit Opik claimed £40...
A £40 Court Fine for non payment of council tax!!!
What the f..... that is taking the piss.
Why is the BBC bigging up McSnots announcement when it's already been admitted that he can't do what he said. He doesn't have the authority.
But never mind a convenient soundbite to knock Cameron off the headlines and the BBC obliges- as always.
An extension cable costing £66.90? Is it Gucci? Bog standard extentions are around £3.99 in B&Q.
Never thought i'd see the day. Iain Dale complaining the Lib Dems don't get enough media coverage.
Actually forget what I said. Ben Brogan's got me thinking about David Davis as speaker. It's not such a bad idea:
Career Consequentials
The lib dems should be called the two faced party,we are clean,oh no we are not,We will give you a vote on the lisbon treaty,oh no we won't,this is just tipical of the illiberals,pathetic.
Beeboid on News 24 ARGUING with Andrew Pierce from the DT about the Lib Dems.
BBC defending Lib dems. Don't remember them trying to defend Tories last night, or did I miss that?
And why is the BBC running the Gordon Brown story when it's arelady been admitted he can't do what he is saying?
They have 12 MPs?
I've just seen the Brown / Nick Robinson interview.
Arghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently it is the "right thing to do".... to kick the ball into the long grass and wait for some 'independent body' to report at 'some point in the future' on what is immediately obvious today.
This crisis has certainly brought out the best and worst in our politicians.
It is an unparalleled opportunity for voters to see the true leadership and crisis management skills in our politicians. They are all dealing with the same problem.
It would be a good idea to give them votes out of ten when the dusts settles.
Gawd Bless the Barclay Twins
I'm sure you've seen Mike Smithson's proud boast from earlier today. I hope it works out well for him.
O/T:
It's not very often that a leader of the opposition gets to actually do something. Propose, comment, pontificate & opine yes. But do? Not often. Cameron has been afforded a rare oppurtunity & he has seized it firmly, with both hands.
As party leader, he has demanded from prominent Shadow Cabinet members & others, recompense, in a personal capacity, for their burden on the Parliamentary Estate.
What a fantastic metaphor for his approach to those same prospective Ministers Of State, as to their departmental budgets & their various burdens on the 'ship of state'. Feel free to use this one Iain, if nobody from Coulson's office picks up on it..;)
trevors den: Faulkes is in the Lords, wake up man.
___________________________
I thought Andrew Pierce of the Telegraph was excellent on both Sky News and BBC News Channel. Knocking back Browns assertion that it was Brown that started the moves for a clean up!
He was extremely impressed by Cameron and scathing about MING!
Note that individual Lib Dems are not saying sorry!
I see a lot of people hating on the LibDems, but to be honest they don't even seem to come close to the same degree of sleaze we've come to expect from people like Hoon and Smith. To be honest, if this is the worst the Telegraph could come up with then it almost makes them seem better!
...Almost!
@ Jonathan Cook
There are some notable silent ones in this whole fandango – particularly Ed Balls. Though it would be out of character for them to have a go at this government, I’m guessing that the DT have calculated the story length on this and want to end with a bang. I’m also guessing they’re going to save the most damaging till last – and I wonder who that will capture? Ed, cometh the hour, cometh the van. The removal van..
Who the hell does Lembit O'Pickled think he is, claiming that £40 back, when his total anarchic and dubious behaviour led to the fine in the first place! How dare he.
We also learn that he claimed 12k for his London flat. Why?
Re the flatscreen TV, £2,500 seems one hell of a lot. Especially since his then fiancee Sian LLoyd paid for EVERYTHING. I wonder what she would make of that sum.
So it seems that basically the Liberal Democrats are home free at this point. Very interesting. Only thing anyone seems to be able to pin on them is Ming's flat (£10k redecoration, first in 10 years) and someone letting their daughter use their property occasionally.
Lib Dems seem very likely to get second place in the Euros at this point.
Lib Dems seem to be relatively in the clear. Nothing like the shenanigans of Labour and the Tories. What a disappointment!!
Lembit Opik, the high-profile housing spokesman, charged taxpayers for a £40 court summons he received for the non-payment of his council tax.
Cheeky boy.
ming is a shocker.typical champagne socialist.this £10,000 puts the tory claims into perspective.the tories now look like cheap skates.
According to his website, Andrew George has sponsored a Parliamentary Motion (No.1150) Submitted on 23rd March, 2009 calling for all MPs to 'sign over' their London flats to the ownership of the House. Flats would then be allocated on the basis of need.
This EDM actually states that MPs should sign over their mortgages.Given the amount of money Brown has poured into Banks and Building Societies, technically we probably 'own' most of their flats anyway.
What about Lord Rennard?
The guy lives in Vauxhall, all the time, yet he designates another home as his second home so he can claim on the Vauxhall property.
This is another Uddin style scam.
I wonder if Clegg will enforce his rule about profits on "secong homes" on Rennard? I'd love to be there when he breaks the news to him!
Of all the things to focus on I'm not sure why cushions should be centre stage - five cushions cost £35 each. Hardly on the scale of a moat is it?
It is the little things as well as the big things.
If Ming was intending to receive guests in his capacity as Leader of the Lib Dems, I am not so concerned about his need for a professional makeover as long as he then did not profit from any future sale. Oh well, started out looking good but a bitter finish!
Opik's claim for the £40 fine is one of the more obscene for the very fact that everyone else has to stomach these "fines" and endure the taxes and now we see the MPs absent themselves from the very laws and inconveniences they foist upon us.
At a deep psychological level Opik is flawed.
£176.25 for five cushions is only £35.25 per cushion. Parliament's favourite department store sells some that are £67, so that's quite mid-range.
Roger Thornhill, in more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger mode writes of 'a deep psychological level' - this, of a man who revels in his fornication and adultery, and who thinks that a fine for non-payment of taxes, should be negligently tossed to someone else for settling? Let's not ask, 'How few Commandments has he broken?': Let's ask, 'Are there any Commandments that he has NOT broken?'
An extension cable at sixty odd quid - just how big is the lawn ?
And "Anonymous" - scale doesn't matter apart from the ridicule which is in inverse proportions - Jacqui Timney (nee Smith) claimed 88p for a plug !
Give us a break.man !
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