MP expense accounts
In the UK, there is an ongoing row centered on the creative use of expense accounts by Members of Parliament. It started some months ago when the Labour Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, was found to be using a room in her sister’s London home in Peckham as her principal residence.
In order to maximise her draw on the Parliamentary expense account, she then claimed her large family home in Reddicth, Worcestershire, where she resides along with her husband and children, as a second home. Smith defended her position claiming she spends more of her time as her sister’s, that she does in fact share the entire house and is not a lodger as initially claimed in newspaper accounts and, most damagingly, that she was not doing anything beyond recognized norms for MPs – in other word they are, most likely, all at it.
Fast forward a few months, and it is now the turn of Labour work minister Tony McNulty to undergo the same level of scrutiny over his 60 000 pound claims for second housing expenses. His situation is even more bizarre than Smith’s. McNulty made the claim for his parents’ abode in Harrow, just 11 miles from the House of Commons, stating that he was using it for daytime constituency related work. He does not stay there overnight.
Like a heroin addict who understands his habit will kill him, McNulty has this week made a public cry for a change to the rules. And the parliamentary sleaze committee set up in the 1990s will come shortly honour that call. By the autumn, they hope to commence a full investigation in to the way these MPs have used or abused their expense accounts, which could lead to reforms to the current operating guidelines.
Presently, MPs can claim second home allowances expenses of up to 24 000 pounds per annum (this is comparable to the yearly wage of a parliamentary assistant who are expected to base their entire living on this sum). It is meant for rent, mortgage or hotel payments, but includes a 25 pounds per night allowance for food. The 25 inner London MPs may not claim the allowance.
From April 1, stricter self-regulation will be urged on MPs.
Holt Weasel is a freelance writer who has written extensively on politics and current affairs.
