I was surprised, but in a way also not surprised, to see that the latest MP's expenses scandal back home has made the news all the way out here. I have meant to write, repeatedly, a blog post in praise of the powers of the internet, and how it has manifested itself in the powers that be not being able to have their own way with the media any more. I read occasionally the blog 'Order Order', the so called Guido Fawkes Blog which is in effect, one man with a laptop with sources in high places. His politics seem quite conservative, but we all have our crosses to bear, after all.
The author of the blog has been writing for some months on 'pigs in the trough'. and the rather generous expense claims that members of Parliament have been submitting. of late Eventually, some of the national media outlets have picked up on it, culminating in the Daily Telegraph's expose of politicians of all sides really gettting it in the neck this week. Without wanting to go too Daily Mail on you, I find it bordering on obscene that the Education Secretary and his wife, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, (combined salary ca. £282,000) claim £600 a month in food expenses. Can they not afford it? Even by Waitrose standards (and take it from bitter personal experience, the one in Gloucester Road in London is eye-wateringly expensive), that's probably a bit pricey. I reckon my food bill is about 1/6 of that. Even including into that the effects of living in London Village, that's a real fiddle.
Add into that (from other suspects) claims for horse manure, cleaning out castle moats, bookcases costing £18,000, antique persian rugs, TVs worth £8800, two (at least) counts of claiming mortgage expenses for mortgages long paid off, several MPs suspended from their positions, multiple counts of 'second house flipping' and it seems that the public mood with their elected officials is at possibly the lowest ebb in living memory. The solution? As it is out here ,north of the 49th parallel. Publish every single expense claim on the internet, where the voting public can see and scrutinise. The internet is a force for good sometimes, and I think the british government should follow suit.
The author of the blog has been writing for some months on 'pigs in the trough'. and the rather generous expense claims that members of Parliament have been submitting. of late Eventually, some of the national media outlets have picked up on it, culminating in the Daily Telegraph's expose of politicians of all sides really gettting it in the neck this week. Without wanting to go too Daily Mail on you, I find it bordering on obscene that the Education Secretary and his wife, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, (combined salary ca. £282,000) claim £600 a month in food expenses. Can they not afford it? Even by Waitrose standards (and take it from bitter personal experience, the one in Gloucester Road in London is eye-wateringly expensive), that's probably a bit pricey. I reckon my food bill is about 1/6 of that. Even including into that the effects of living in London Village, that's a real fiddle.
Add into that (from other suspects) claims for horse manure, cleaning out castle moats, bookcases costing £18,000, antique persian rugs, TVs worth £8800, two (at least) counts of claiming mortgage expenses for mortgages long paid off, several MPs suspended from their positions, multiple counts of 'second house flipping' and it seems that the public mood with their elected officials is at possibly the lowest ebb in living memory. The solution? As it is out here ,north of the 49th parallel. Publish every single expense claim on the internet, where the voting public can see and scrutinise. The internet is a force for good sometimes, and I think the british government should follow suit.
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