Instead of letting MPs claim money to have a second home in London, it has now been suggested that we buy them a block of flats to use instead:
Taxpayers’ money could be used to buy a block of flats or a hotel in central London for MPs to stay in, a parliamentary committee charged with overhauling MPs’ expenses has disclosed.Buying accommodation rather than refunding MPs for the costs of mortgages or renting a second home would be more transparent, the House of Commons members estimate committee said.MPs can currently claim …

Busy doing nothing:
The number of Government ministers should be slashed by a quarter because too many are “busy doing nothing”, a former aide to Tony Blair said.Matthew Taylor, who was the head of the Number 10 policy unit, said that senior politicians were being paid for “detail” work that should be carried out by officials…“I would more specifically devolve authority to officials and make officials more accountable to MPs and the public so that politicians don’t feel they have to get involved in the fine details.” (The Telegraph)
Government is just …

Plans for Brown Force One have been scrapped. The go-ahead for these was one of the last things that Tony Blair did as Prime Minister, yet it has taken Gordon Brown not far off a year to decide to cancel the order.
It was nothing more than an expensive status symbol, with no real point or benefits. It is a very good thing that this waste of our money has been stopped, but questions have to be asked about why it took so long for the decision to be made.

A. Tory has got out his “Excel geek” hat, put it on, and analysed MPs expenditures for the last parliamentary session. He has then awarded those who have shafted the taxpayers – that’s you and me, folks – the most. And unsurprisingly all of the winners bar one are Labour MPs. And the only non-Labour MP? Angus MacNeil of the SNP. And the winners are:
Total expenditures: Shahid Malik, spending £185,421 of our moneyOffice and staff costs: Barry Gardiner, spending £123,852 of our moneyCar travel: Janet Anderson, spending £13,851 of our …

All the expenses claimed by MPs are to be published. Good. If they’re spending our money, we have a right to know how it is being spent. What shocked me was the ‘John Lewis’ list:
MPs can claim around £22,000 a year to fund, furnish and maintain a second home, with mortgage interests payments claimable under this allowance. They can also claim up to £400 a month for shopping without receipts.
And money can be claimed by MPs for this in the following ways:
up to £10,000 for a new kitchen, more than …

Public pensions to cost us £1 trillion?!
Public sector pensions are set to cost taxpayers £1,025 billion – or £40,000 for every household over the next 20 years – according to figures released today…There are 5.8 million public sector workers in Britain and their pensions are costing taxpayers £18 billion a year. (The Telegraph)
Now that is one hell of a lot of money. And money that we have to pay. There is no denying that it is disgustingly high.

Is anyone worth £90,000 per month? Maybe, maybe not. But no-one is worth £90,000 per month of taxpayer’s money. Not matter how good they may be.
Even so, that ridiculous sum is the amount to be paid to the new executive chairman of the nationalised Northern Rock.
There is more than enough bitching about the payment of £60,000 per year to MPs, but remarkably little about one-and-a-half times this being paid to Ron Sandler every month.
It’s just wrong. Especially when it’s my taxes that are paying it.

Tory MP Derek Conway has been outed as employing his son as a parliamentary researcher whilst he was a full-time student and paying him £1,000-plus per month, with a total of around £13,000 salary – plus bonuses. And all from taxpayer’s funds, for work that wasn’t done. Certainly not work to that value, anyway.
There is no excuse for what he has done. It is utterly disgraceful and unacceptable. He should have to repay every penny that has been wrongly taken. Every. Single. Penny. From his own money.
Just giving him a …

£s for lbs?!
Obese and overweight adults in England could be paid to lose weight under plans being considered by the Government. The new strategy to tackle poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles includes the suggestion that people should receive financial rewards or shopping vouchers for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.The £372 million strategy reiterates a target set last year to cut the proportion of overweight and obese children by 2020 to levels in 2000. (The Times)
Just ridiculous.

… and even though Labour took the £180,000 they were offered, they still broke electoral law.
It is absolutely disgraceful that even though they were given £183,052 by the Electoral Commission in order for “training staff in the duties imposed by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 and was specifically for the party to prepare for its requirements on submitting accounts and declaring donations above £5,000.”
What annoys me most about this is that it is yet more taxpayers money being given to political parties, even if for a specific …