From the BBC Now I may be alone here, but I tend to feel that the government should be open and honest about how they use our money to fund their "lavish" lifestyles, nor do I feel that the excuse "its too expensive" is particularly valid when these expenses should be detailed and document on submission, much like any company around requires. I also find the fact that this proposal was buried, sorry released, on the same day as the Heathrow runway go ahead More details here at mysociety And write to your MP, politely, here or here I believe both of these sites filter copy pasted letters as a personal polite enquiry gains more attention than a hundred identikit letters.
Personally, I agree that they should produce their expenses on request. I don't know how much these things differ for big business executives and their expenses, but they're not answering to the country. Though, I expect theirs aren't secret, for tax reasons. They're running our country, supposedly on our behalf, and we're not allowed to ask what they claim as expenses in money that we give them (In a round about kind of way). I understand that I'm living in fantasy world, because governments aren't happy unless their lives are shrouded in mystery from the people they're supposed to be looking after.
There's been too many cases of MPs abusing their priviliges, we should know exactly what they are spending their expenses on, by saying they don't want us to know is just proof that they aren't doing everything according to the rules.
LOL you expect them to do anything in our interest? They have always managed to look after there own interests first. Less privacy, more intrusion. You cant do that, unless we say so. Bloody hate politicians. Look at Mandelson. Hes had to resign twice. Yet hes got a nice cushy job as business minister. Were all loosing our jobs( no third chances for us), the economy is going to hell and prices are going through the roof. Thats why i love Britain.
Not with regards to how they spend tax payers money furnishing a second home, which is also normally bought using tax payers money, and can then be sold at profit once they leave office they don't. MPs have been using the expense system as a second income and this should be stopped, the only way this can currently be archived is full disclosure of the expenses they claim. Its the taxpayers money and we want to know how it gets spent, and somehow I don't see how £10,000 kitchens and £300 beds can in any fashion be given the same status as articles under the offical secrets act.
No they don't. Your not allowed to hide expendature from your Boss at work are you? These muppets work for us, it's our right to be able to demand accountability from these civil servants. Especially when you see the likes of John Prescott getting stripped of his position in Government yet still manages to retain all the perks that his old job provided. Dirty laundery out in the open please Mr MP.
They have a right to spend their salary (with in reason) how they like but yeah expenses must be transparent.
Indeed, altho i'm not sure what you mean by the "in reason" proviso of spending their salary. Don't care what they get upto with their salary, that's theirs to do with as they like, but expenses are paid for from our tax money so we should be entitled to know exactly what it's been spent on.
If they're the business secretary i'd want to know if they're spending there money on RBS shares, Secretary of State for Defence buying shares in Exxon the list goes on, conflict of interest is something we should be aware of. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...lict-of-interest-row-over-car-tax-report.html http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-10-25-958000933_x.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/280312.stm
Apparently the plans have been dropped. For now. I guess that a move to classify MP expense details at the same time that unemployment is reaching a 1.92 million high, banks have to be bailed out for the second time and house repossessions are soaring was considered as lacking some political tact. However I fully expect that this motion will be resurrected and snuck through when the country is distracted by some other news event.
they dont give a stuff about us common folk they are just trying to get as rich as possible as quickly as possible before they get kicked out and then the same will apply when another party gets in power, you know you aint going to win the lottery so the way forward is to train as a politition so you dont have to throw away that pound coin on fantasys,cant find work? become an mp and laugh in the face of extorsionism.
It would be outrageous if they were allowed to keep their expendatures private - they work for the public, in a democracy - their elected. It would be unfair to the people that put them in power (and publicly) not to be allowed to see what it is their spending OUR money on.
It is quite simple. The foundation of a democratic government is its transparency and accountability to its voters. That includes how it spends the voters' tax money --to the last penny.
When you have an unelected prime minister working for a party that only 9% of British public thought would actually do a decent job of running the country it is no wonder that everything is going up **** creek without a paddle. The frustrating point is that the democracy has ceased to be a meaningful concept in British politics because none of the major parties offer anything different. It is like choosing between a Cadburys Dairy Milk (TM) and a Cadburys Wispa yes one may be full of bubbles, but they are the same chocolate at the end of the day.
What is it people find so hard to understand about British politics. The prime minister is always unelected., we DO NOT vote for the PM we vote for the party, the leader of the party usually becomes the PM but that is an internal matter, if the Torries got in and decided that Robert Mugabe would be a good PM after the public voted for David Cameron then that is just tough it would be up to the opposition to table no confidence motions etc.
