The oath of allegiance – Hufflepuff or Slytherin?
The Telegraph’s publication of the details of MPs’ more ludicrous expenses claims, has given our MPs another chance to show off their high moral standing. Maybe PMQs hasn’t quite reached the levels of Didier Drogba’s hysterical wide-eyed finger jabbing, but it’s surely not too far away.
Not content with making a total idiot of herself yesterday by claiming that those opposed to the retention of the DNA of innocent people were ‘against justice’, Harman (a senior member of staff at Liberty before her election as an MP) tried to defend the expenses claims of her Cabinet colleagues. Harman said, “The claims are assessed and only paid out by the House of Commons Fees Office if they believe it’s a claim within the rules and that the MP is entitled to be paid out on that claim. I’m not justifying the system as it was, I’m saying that the claims that were made by Members of Parliament were made under the system as it was“.
So was the previous system right or wrong, Ms Harman? If it was wrong, why didn’t you change it? Too many colleagues enjoying the fruits of our labours? Didn’t the MPs who changed primary residences four times in four years think that there might be something a little shady about serial renovations and redevelopments at our expense? How many flat screen televisions do you need, Ms Blears? And why can MPs claim for food eaten at their second home? Do they eat more than at their first home? Surely one of the reasons for having a home rather than a hotel room is that they can cook a quick dish of pasta on return home, or stick something in the microwave. If they choose to eat out, or treat themselves in M&S they are no different to what other professionals might do at the end of a long day.
Those of us who claim expenses as part of our jobs know how important it is to get them right. We keep folders of receipts, note mileage in our diaries and at the end of the month tot it all up carefully. When I worked in public affairs for a large blue chip I remember worrying that I had claimed for a couple of pizzas and diet Cokes shared with someone who was in my strategy to meet, but who was also a good friend. In another role, I claimed mileage for a regular 100 mile round trip, before realising that I had started not from home, but a location 20 miles closer. I quickly sent an email explaining my mistake.
So why don’t MPs do the same? How could the then Chancellor of the Exchequer have been so sloppy with his book keeping as to claim for the same plumber’s bill twice? How did Jack Straw not notice that he’d claimed twice as much as the bill said was due? Why does Jacqui Smith claim that both London and Redditch are her main home: the former to maximise her expenses claims and the latter to eliminate any possibility of paying Capital Gains tax? And why does she think we should pay the council tax in Redditch to enable her to do so?
Is it just that the people who go into full-time politics are more likely to be corruptible money-grabbers? From the MPs that I know, I would say not. I know quite a few LibDem MPs and they certainly don’t fall into that category, even though many have become poor just getting to that position. I also know a couple of MPs from the other major parties and one former MP and none of them appear to be feathering their nests. So why do so many who enter the Palace of Westminster just take, and keep taking, the money? After taking the Oath of Allegiance, do they undergo some transformation? Is there a box at the door in which you can leave your moral compass? Does the ceremony include a sorting hat, after which the honest join Hufflepuff, whilst others are sent to Slytherin to get whispered advice on how to milk the system whilst they have the chance? Are they underpaid or do the rules they set themselves just make it too easy? And why, like Zammo, can they not just say no?
Related posts:
- You don't need to be an accountant to know right from wrong
- Hypocrisy – alive and well and living in the Labour Party's second home
- Have MPs finally found a way to exempt themselves from FOI?
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