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Government gives up on MPs second homes allowance

Michael Crick | 13:20 UK time, Monday, 27 April 2009

A senior government source has told me that the government has abandoned plans for a vote on the controversial second homes allowance (officially called the additional costs allowance) this Thursday.

Gordon Brown proposed last week it should be replaced by a daily attendance allowance but having failed to get agreement from the other many parties, and many of his back bench MPs, the government has decided instead to refer the question of the second homes allowance to the inquiry being conducted by and the .

However, MPs will vote this Thursday on each of the other individual items proposed by the prime minister in his last week, such as greater transparency and withdrawing the second home allowance from MPs with seats in Outer London.

In the circumstances Gordon Brown and his colleagues had no option but to back down, as I said on Newsnight last Thursday, the prime minister was heading for certain defeat.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

  • Comment number 2.

    I should think so too. What cheek to expect a two hundred quid bung for just turning up...who do they think they are?.....the House of Lords. At least in the Lords you have to have one foot in the grave and know you're way round a bit whereas in the Commons you are still getting your second and third houses sorted out, first things first!

  • Comment number 3.

    Mods... thanks for the email - Postings to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ blogs will be removed if they advertise products or services for profit or gain. Posts to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ blogs should not contain advertising or promotion of any kind - and generous invitation to repost:

    As I can quite see that the blog of the NN Political Editor might not be aware of our Dear Leader's predilection for greeting unwelcome news with mobile and other IT systems abuse, I will attempt another wording of my original:

    'Time to invest in one of our major EU partner's telco company's mobile handset division? '

    Not obviously known I anticipate.

    I fear for programmes such as 'Have I Got New For You' in future, mind.

  • Comment number 4.

    Buy HP shares

  • Comment number 5.

    Unless Sir Christopher Kelly's report is seen to be truly independent of Government, its conclusions won't be worth the paper they're printed on.

    And Gordon's neck will be truly "on the block" !

  • Comment number 6.

    another bad judgement call from the PM team. From iraq to kelly to dissing the fsa to pfi to 10p tax to nasty emails and so on there has been a yellow brick road of such bad judgement calls. These calls are not one off. They are habitual and persistent. If they form a pattern of decision making can we not use it as a model to predict the future? ie more bad judgement calls are to be expected? Indeed the evidence is clear one could put a bet on at the bookies to expect another PM climb down?

    who would vote for a party with a pattern of bad decision making in important affairs? For these things are not trivial but important they are got right?

  • Comment number 7.

    JUDGEMENT CALLS AND INFAMY (#6)

    And now MPs are whinging 'In for me - in for me, they've all got it in for me!' If they had any judgement, they would know to keep very quiet, and not a little respectful of public opinion. As I have said before: there are no GOOD MPs in all this, only enactors, connivers and dreamers. In a word: Westminster.

  • Comment number 8.

    Means test these MP's.how can it be right that people are supposed to manage on 60 pounds a week job seekers allowance while MP's want 160 pounds a day.
    And if MP's have second or third jobs what expenses are thay claiming for them ?

  • Comment number 9.

    Getting the feeling that everything could unravel for Gordon and quite quickly now. The early summer breeze of authority blowing away seems as close as an infected sneeze.

  • Comment number 10.

    ON BEING UNDONE (#9)

    Ho pho to! I don't think J Gordon Brown was ever properly ravelled in the first place - hence his desperation to gain status and adulation (like Blair et al) to hide behind. What I want to see unravelled, is the tangled web of Westminster/NO 10 'governance'.

    Dreaming on . . .

  • Comment number 11.

    So common sense prevails at Westminster.

    In Scotland, we are used to minority or coalition governments. In such conditions common sense comes into play in government much more than on the Banks of the Thames.

    Britain would be better governed by a hung parliament.

    This brings me for the first time to the conclusion, that proportional representation would be good for British Government.

  • Comment number 12.

    Nos 10

    I like the idea of writing a two or three line little tinkler that fingers the moment and sets up the future. But my English tends to come undone .

    If only I could do it with a camera - no line or time just a joust and forever change in time line. Stare time down.

  • Comment number 13.

    It doesn't matter that Brown won't have a referendum on the second homes allowance - the MPs aren't likely to vote for pay cuts now are they?! The public will decide to give Brown and his party the boot anyway at the next general election. --

  • Comment number 14.

    Michael:

    Yes, That is good news regarding the government policy on second home allowances....What happen!!!

    =Dennis Junior=

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