David Cameron, the Conservative Leader, has pledged to cut the cost of Parliamentary politics. From the Independent:

David Cameron laid down the gauntlet to Gordon Brown today by pledging to slash pay, perks and costs at Westminster.

The Tory leader set out plans to cut the number of MPs by 10 per cent, reduce ministerial salaries and do away with subsidised food and drink.

Although the £500 million annual bill for running Parliament was only a “pinprick” in terms of overall public spending, politicians had to give an example for the looming “age of austerity”, Mr Cameron insisted.

“With the Conservatives, the gravy train will well and truly hit the buffers,” he said.

Iain reckons that it will save 100 million ukp per year. Mark Thompson suggests that there are some self-serving motives giving rise to some strange holes in the proposals.

To me it seems that they are looking at cuts of 10% across the board on financial totals. So 10% fewer MPs, a small cut in Ministerial Salaries which will could be made up to 10% with a reduction in number of Ministers, a 10% cut in overheads etc.

The Daily Telegraph is suggesting on that link that Mr Cameron is looking at a reduction in the number of Ministers to around 100 from the current 119, which would go some way to meet Mark’s scepticism if it were to happen one day.

There’s been a point made that 100 million ukp will make hardly a dent on the face of the country’s financial bottomless pit. That is true, but – assuming we have a Tory government – Mr Cameron is going to have to take an axe to whole areas of unnecessary public expenditure, and will need to be seen to give a lead.

I think that 100 million ukp is too small a symbol after 10 years of bloat and the biggest trainwreck of self-liquidated political integrity in a century, and that there are some (different from Mark) strange holes in the proposals.

There is also still a herd of elephants standing in the corner of the room that are being ignored. That oft-ignored herd of elephants is the level of the Basic Salary of MPs.

Between 1993 and 2006 these were the comparative changes in the UK:

1. Retail Price Index: increased by 44%.
2. Average Earnings: increased by 63%.
3. 95 percentile of taxable earnings: increased from 33,100 ukp to 58,500 ukp, that is by 77%.
4. Basic salary of MPs: increased from 30,854 ukp to 59,686 ukp, that is by 93%.

So, ignoring the squealing and the guff from Alan Duncan MP about “rations”, MPs are already thoroughly at the top of the heap, and steadily climbing higher. I’ll post the graphs and sources of the analysis tomorrow.

Then there’s another hundred million or more that Mr Cameron needs to pledge to go after as well, and that is the money which has been obtained by laxity within, or fiddling of, the Parliamentatry Expenses system over the last 10 years.

Part of this may well be due to a House of Commons regulator which “went native”, but if I make a mistake in my taxes it is no excuse to have been badly advised, and the Inland Revenue will still want their pound of flesh.

If the Inland Revenue think there has been a problem, they can go back decades. MPs’ Expenses should be no different.

And if it will take primary legislation to ensure that the principles which should have been applied, are applied, then so be it.