MP's expenses

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, POGS.

Anna

I was addressing the question as a generalisation to the Iam64's post re the petition.

"Have you signed then petition on line to stop MP's policing their own expenses"

I thought was IPSA was set up to do.

Oh, sorry. I thought you were asking what IPSA was.

(PS My name is Ana)

Ana

I'm sorry. Do you know I think I have said Anna on more than one occasion. No excuses, word blindness.

Not illegal, but David Cameron is renting out his London home while he lives in Downing Street. The rent is £6000 a month!! So a very handy £72,000 a year extra income on top of his pay and allowances and everything else. No wonder he let Maria Miller get away with her claims. He still claimed 40p for a bulldog clip.
Don't they realise how angry we all are with them? They have learned nothing after the last expenses scandal.
Build a block of flats, stick them all in there and do away with expenses altogether. Bunch of fraudsters they are and they don't even think they are doing anything wrong. No conscience at all. And they have the nerve to cut benefits from the worst off in society in order to balance the books. Grrrrrrrrr!!

That is a very handy sum isn't it mrsmopp, more than most people can ever hope to earn in a year and far above the 'average' wage.

I wonder if Mr C could be persuaded to donate the rental income, which he doesn't need, to a housing charity or similar. So far as I know, he doesn't pay rent on number 10, or chequers, so he's quids in, particularly given the ridiculous way in which house prices are rising in London.

I still believe MP's should be paid more, similar to head teachers and GP's, or managers in industry etc. Their main home should be in their constituency, and some form of basic accommodation provided for them when they're in London. Expenses should be monitored in the same way they are for other public servants. There are set amounts for meals, petrol, rail/air travel and alcohol is never claimable.

What I didn't understand about Maria Miller is why she needed a second home when her constituency is Basingstoke. Western Isles, Cornwall, even Newcastle, hard to commute daily. But Basingstoke? I'll vote for mrsmopp's block of flats. And their spouses and families should stay in the constituency and experience local health care and education and policing. It makes me so cross to hear our MP talking about local conditions when he and his family all live in London. And so many of them, all parties, are parachuted in from central office with no local knowledge or interests.

Absolutely agree with you Lilygran. We are fortunate in that our local MP was born in the area, worked in the area and his family live here. He joins constituents in campaigns to protect local services, e.g. libraries, youth services, mental health services and A&E. I'm so irritated by the noise and nonsense at PMQ's, by the slippery way in which so many politicians never answer a direct question, expenses, etc etc that I may be inclined either not to vote, or spoil my ballot paper if we weren't represented be a real person, with a life similar to that of the people he represents.