2155 Hrs GMT London Thursday 2 April 2009:
KHOODEELAAR! TOLD YOU SO! that David Cameron was just as pathetic as the rest of them. He has no clue as to what the people are saying about MPs discrediting ‘democracy’, discrediting Parliament and making society worse.….
[To be continued]
From the web site of the London DAILY TELEGRAPH:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/5094284/MPs-salaries-could-be-increased-in-exchange-for-cuts-in-allowances.html
MPs salaries 'could be increased in exchange for cuts in allowances'
MPs' salaries could be significantly increased in exchange for cutting controversial parliamentary allowances, David Cameron has suggested.
By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent
Last Updated: 9:16PM BST 02 Apr 2009
Tony McNulty, the employment minister, is being investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner, over the use of the allowance Photo: PA
The Conservative leader has signalled he is prepared to look at a rise in MPs' pay in order to get rid of the £24,000 allowance members can claim to fund a second home and cut the total bill to taxpayers.
The Additional Costs Allowance has been at the heart of a string of recent scandals. Two ministers, Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, and Tony McNulty, the employment minister, are being investigated by the parliamentary standards commissioner, over their use of the allowance.
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Miss Smith has faced criticism for designating her sister's home in London as her primary residence, allowing her to claim the ACA to fund her family home in Redditch. As part of the claim for that home, Miss Smith claimed public money for pornographic films watched by her husband.
In a BBC radio interview, Mr Cameron, suggested two alternatives: tightening the ACA rules, or replacing it with a salary increase for MPs, who would then fund their homes from their own pockets.
"Either you have more regulation, you say you have a proper declaration from MPs about why they need this allowance, where they live and all the rest of it, so that that there isn't any of this monkey business about pretending that your second home isn't a second home," Mr Cameron told Five Live.
"The other path is that you replace it with a sum of money that costs less than the current system and you deal with it in that way."
He added: "Frankly I don't mind which one we go for. I just want us to sort it out. "
Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has suggested the allowance could be scrapped and replaced with a single "attendance allowance" to MPs for every night they spend in London.
Tory sources said Mr Cameron may be open to that, but pointed to concerns that similar allowances have been abused in the European Parliament.
MPs are now paid a salary of £64,766. Many claim that their pay has failed to keep pace with that of comparable professionals and privately say they will only give up their allowances in exchange for a big salary increase.
Some £11.6 million of public money was paid out under the ACA in 2007/08, which has fuelled growing public anger over parliamentary perks in recent years.
MPs can use the allowance to pay utility bills, council tax, satellite TV subscriptions and buy household goods from the so-called "John Lewis List" of approved items.
They can also pay mortgages, and many are known to have acquired valuable properties which they retain after leaving the Commons.
More than 150 MPs claimed the maximum amount of ACA during 2007/08.
Mr Cameron said that that regular revelations about MPs' use of expenses is now threatening public confidence in the entire political system.
He said: "Our politics being dragged through the mud is not just bad for the House of Commons, it's bad for the country."
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