Posts Tagged allowances

MPs allowances: the system is broke and we need to fix it

6 April, 2009 at 12:15 pm · Filed under Campaigns, Consumer ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

More rows about MPs allowances.

Today’s Metro picks up on the case of Geoff Hoon, who managed to claim an allowance for his (not-in-the-constituency) ‘constituency’ home, while living free in London as a Minister, and renting out his other London home. Proof that at least one member of the Government can manage public money… though sadly not for the public’s benefit.

Meanwhile, Claire Ward, the Labour MP for Watford, is another who finds the daily commute (16 minutes from Euston) too much to bear. And Tory MP Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell, 45 minutes from Victoria) not only claims for a second home allowance but also clocks up high travel expenses (over £10k in 2007-08).

To quote Nick Clegg, “It is clearly barmy for ministers to indulge in a form of double counting that enables them to enjoy two homes at the taxpayers’ expense. To say this is within the rules will only serve to convince the public that the rules are broken and need to be fixed as soon as possible.”

Islington escapes all this as we’re an inner London borough, so no second home allowances. However, other MP expenses such as postage and foreign travel should still be open to scrutiny.

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McNulty put to shame

22 March, 2009 at 9:51 am · Filed under Campaigns, Family & friends ·Tagged , ,

I’d not realised quite what a heroic figure my cousin Simon is.

When we were all children, as the oldest and cleverest cousin, he was the one who made us all laugh with his commentary on slide shows of holiday photos (we’re talking family gatherings 70s style) and patiently let smaller relatives chase him about.

Our grandfather was from Finsbury and our grandmother from Holloway, but they later moved out to the Harrow area, and now Simon lives in Harrow too.

He works in Westminster, like local MP Tony McNulty. Unlike Mr McNulty, he commutes in and out every day. Like Mr McNulty, Simon has parents who also live in the Harrow area. But, unlike Mr McNulty, Simon claims no public money for their home.

Mr McNulty’s office insists that he has done nothing wrong. I hadn’t realised that the daily journey from central London to Harrow was so long and traumatic that it entitled MPs to a second homes allowance. But what moves me even more than Simon’s heroism is his modesty. When asked about his extraordinary journey, he simply says that thousands do the same every day.

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Keeping it in the family

3 February, 2008 at 12:08 pm · Filed under Campaigns ·Tagged , , ,

We’re advertising for an intern in the Lib Dem office at present. Grey Goose vodka and peacock hats not included. Most students who intern for MPs do it for expenses and the CV; so employing your own student sons on between £30k and £50k would be unusual even if their work was highly visible. The antics of the Conway boys, and their father’s arrogance, means the story will stay in the headlines. And the ripples from the Conway case continue to spread. David Cameron admits that he employs his sister-in-law ; he is one of over 70 Tory MPs who employ members of their family. Peter Hain employs his 80 year old Mum as a secretary. Now there’s even talk of a ban on MPs employing family.

I don’t have a problem with MPs employing family members, particularly their partners. Politics is a total immersion experience, a lifestyle not a job. Having your spouse as your aide and confidante while you are working long hours, possibly hundreds of miles from home, is a good idea. And there are lots of examples of worthy employees – like Dan Hodges working for his mother Glenda Jackson MP – who happen to be relatives too.

So I’m worried that even the BBC slipped up today and reported the Conway case as being about MPs paying relatives to work for them. Wrong. The scandal is paying public money to people who then don’t do the work.

MPs offices are like small businesses, with members hiring and firing their own staff, funded by a staffing allowance. How many employees each has, and how much they are paid, varies widely. So do the caseloads of different constituencies, the working styles of different MPs, and the campaigning demands of different parties. Some MPs dip into their own pocket to subsidise the costs of the staff they feel they need. Rich MPs can afford to give extra perks, like Islington South & Finsbury MP Emily Thornberry having her husband buy housing for her staff. Nice work if you can get it!

The current row is about public money. But staff funded by special interest groups are an issue too. If the Conway boys’ fun at Mahiki had been funded by Monsanto, McDonalds or Microsoft, would that be any better? The system needs an overhaul. Publishing salaries and perks packages – public & private – and requiring staff appraisals, would be a start.

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