Dizzy's story HERE illustrates perfectly the reason why if you want to know what goes on in parliament you're often better off reading his blog than a national newspaper. The Telegraph has trumpeted the fact that greedy, thieving MPs have just awarded themselves a new allowance of £9k a year. Except that they haven't. It was done in January, way before the expenses scandal took off.
The BBC has fallen in line and reported the Telegraph story as gospel. The fact of the matter is it was decided on in January and was in the March edition of the Green Book. It's still a story, but at least four - if not seven - months late.
18 comments:
and its not a 9 grand allowance either. MP's would have to be away from the HOC for the entire year to get 9k.
Still the Telegraph is right to highlight that Cameron has done nothing to discipline Alan Duncan over his dubious expense claims.
And how has George Osborne got away with it so far?
Good, the whole thing should be rerun in the papers every few months lest the sheeple forget.
The DTel is a dead duck. Thius is sloppy, sloppy journalism and the maths is appalling as well!
£9,000 divided by £25 = 360.
If an MP is claiming 360 overnight stays in their "second hoime" doesn't that suggest it isn't?
Late or not, it will only add to the utter and perfectly deserved public hatred of all MPs, and of the revolting system they have built around themselves.
I am a small, naive and unimportant person, but a lifelong Conservative voter. I started reading this blog not long after Cameron was elected, trying to find some reason to vote for this dismaying person.
I still haven't found any. Meanwhile, I have discovered that my sitting Conservative MP has stolen from me, so there is no way I can possibly vote for him again.
I am no longer thinking in terms of supporting politicians at all. I am simply longing to punish them. This is what you lot at Westminster have done to a simple man.
Which shows how much contempt politicians have for the general public, Iain.
The general election will be a day of reckoning for Labour, and the Tory's had better take some notes if they are elected.
What was it that Harman said about receipts?
Lying cow.
It may be a late story but it is still relevant as the bill for constitutional reform could have been amended to either retain the original 400 per day level or even reduce it. As we are entering a zero inflation or even deflationary era there is absolutely no justification at all for an increase.
This is daylight robbery: a 9000 per annum pay rise, tax free (of course) and no receipts are needed. It is what we now expect from our disgusting MPs.
So it was reported seven months late. That makes it all right then, does it?
WV: fluing How singularly appropriate
Hah - late stories - that’s not unusual.
Like the nonsense about broadband speeds today. That’s been known about for at least 2 years.
Talk about stating the obvious.
This is probably my favourite political blog but...
You do wind me up on expenses.
The headline of this post implies criticism of the Telegraph.
Surely a more appropriate headline would be "Good old Telegraph reminds us what a bunch of thieving scumbags run the country".
Agree with Anon 10.38 and 12.24, and Tachybaptus. There is no way the expenses scandal can be allowed to quietly "have a line drawn under it". If some MPs of a delicate constitution are now feeling a bit bruised, battered and persecuted because of this, that's fine by me.
The BBC has fallen in line and reported the Telegraph story as gospel
Not surprising, since the latter is now Labour's plaything.
I'm glad the issue is still alive - I'm still mad as hell and don't want any of the three main parties to forget it. We haven't yet had redress - those culpable have gotten away with it - and come the GE, that point will be on people's minds.
Anon 12:24
".................headline ......reminds us what a bunch of thieving scumbags run the country".
And also of thieving scumbags who'd like to run the country if their fellow candidates had won enough votes.
Anon @12:24 said "Good old Telegraph reminds us what a bunch of thieving scumbags run the country".
What a great headline. I wish just one paper had the courage to run it.
Perhaps 'Good old Telegraph distorts facts to try and squeeze a few more sales for itself from expensegate'.
It really is a non story. And Chris at 10:37, why are you singling out Alan Duncan, he was just one member of this committee. If you are going to apportion blame then do it evenly.
Question, is this replacing the £400 monthly food allowance that MP's could claim previously?
Well done Dizzy. None of the parties are 'whiter than white' and it is disheartening to see how they quickly revert to their old ways. Surely one MP would have brought this up - or raised the gold plated pension that they are still getting.
"It was done in January, way before the expenses scandal took off."
Not what Guido says. Keep up Iain.
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