"I completely understand that the public do have a greater right to know about the use of allowances, expenses, staff, costs and the like and so we do need to show greater transparency. "If they (MPs) employ a member of their family, that should be declared and at what salary band. "I also believe we should move to a system where the House of Commons effectively employs our staff, rather than us doing it ourselves. "For many years, a culture grew up in Westminster where allowances were added because pay wasn't increased - and I think what we need to do is unwind and change that culture."David called an urgent meeting of Conservative MPs to brief them on the new rules before he made a statement. He told the press that he also wanted the communications allowance abolished, the scrapping of MPs voting for their own pay, the pension scheme closed to new MPs, and MPs to produce receipts for claims of up to £250.
Gordon - That's the way to do it you plank!
2 comments:
The success of such a statement really relies on whether or not it is perceived as really trying to remove transparency. Moving allowances away from being allowances and in to being pay means that tracking what people are doing with what is still essentially public money from the public purse gets much harder.
I think the game they have played in the past is to live totally off allowances and not to touch their pay. I think a good way to get rich would be to live off allowances whilst using all your pay to clear the mortgage on a London home - then sell that home and bank the profit - then claim London second home allowance for a rented pad. I bet it's been done loads of times.
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