From Kit Kats to light bulbs ....
And now it's . Their MPs turn out to be just as adept as Labour at playing the various expenses scams and their excuse -- "all within the rules" -- just as unconvincing as when Labour MPs use it.
The "flipping" of houses seems to be where the big bucks are for many MPs: tart up a second home at taxpayers' expense, then sell it for a substantial profit and pay no capital gains tax because you've redesignated it as your main home. Oh yes, and claim the stamp duty when you buy another "second home", as well as the mortgage payments.
Voters will be amazed at the little things MPs expected us to pay for ---- but it is those who indulged in sophisticated property manipulation that have done best -- at our expense.
Trevor Kavanagh catches the disgust best inbut, incredibly, some in the Westminster village elite don't seem to get it. A few MPs are apologising outright -- though voters might conclude only because they've been rumbled -- but nobody is offering to hand any big sums back. And the response of most MPs is still a combination of denial and evasion.
The Parliamentary Labour Party has even sent out an e-mail to Labour MPs telling them they've done no wrong and not to be contrite:
"It would be easy for the public to gain the impression from this [media] coverage that MPs are generally claiming excessively or outside the rules laid down by Parliament, which is not the case."
Any MP who wants to take this line would be advised to think again.
Then there's the idea of bringing in a private sector company to run the expenses department. Sounds reasonable enough if it's truly independent and transparent. But along with this proposal comes the idea that it could prevent future receipts from getting published under the Freedom of Information act. In the current climate I doubt that idea is going to fly.
Amid the mess, which has come close to destroying the reputation of Parliament for probity, there is still no sign of a clear way forward -- no inkling of a plan that will restore honesty and modesty to MPs expenses.
It's the worst morass Parliament has got into in my lifetime -- and MPs, government and opposition cannot agree on a sensible way forward. So Parliament's reputation is in danger of sinking even lower, if that's possible.
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