History's being made in London and it's all down to the freedom of the press.
The Daily Telegraph, not a tabloid but a top quality broadsheet, has been releasing details of MPs ripping off the tax payers. The effects, which haven't ended yet by any means, are wide ranging, inluding one that hasn't happened since 1695, the resignation of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
It may not sound much but it really is a momentous event, a once-in-three hundred years event.
It's also led to various MPs being disciplined, and more than a few will be thrown out - if they dare to stand - by disgusted voters at the next election.
It's also led to the Prime Minister having to promise to change something else that's annoyed and upset voters over the years. There's long been anger at MPs having their snouts in the trough, more so that they controlled how much of taxpayers' money went into the trough.
Now the PM says there will be an independent outside body overseeing MPs expenses and allowances. That is many years overdue in my opinion, and not just in the UK. We have a similar problem in Australia with MPs voting themselves regular large salary increases, for example, while telling the voters to tighten their belts.
Lack of regulation and oversight, allowing people to do what they want, causes major problems, as the world now realises with the financial excesses of the past decade.
Controlling it all themselves British MPs have been claiming for mortgages which didn't exist, for cleaning swimming pools and even moats around country houses, for a home cinema and televisions, for gardeners - there were even claims for items as small and inexpensive as feather dusters and ice cube trays - and a trouser press and an electronic tooth flosser.
They've been fighting the media off for years, blocking moves to make the truth public through the Freedom of Information Act, but now a whistle blower has provided the Telegraph with a disc containing the information.
Without a free press the rip offs would have continued, and that's the real value of a free press - keeping those in power honest.
You can read about it, and some of the bizarre claims made, in this section of The Daily Telegraph.
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3 comments:
Good post Seebee, but, unless, I have misunderstood you, I disagree with your opinion in one respect:
Now the PM says there will be an independent outside body overseeing MPs expenses and allowances. That is many years overdue in my opinion, and not just in the UK.I disagree. To whom would such an outside body be accountable? Who would appoint its members? Might not such a body infringe upon the sovereignty of Parliament?
Unless of course the outside body responsible for overseeing MP’s expenses would be, in your opinion, the electorate? (I am fairly certain that this is not what Gordon Brown has in mind.)
Why not just publish what MPs earn and make them publish any expenses they claim so that the 70,000 or so voters in their respective constituencies can make up their minds. The UK needs genuine accountability to real voters, not more false accountability to faceless bureaucrats.
Jan, details still be worked out and whether it works or not is all in the detail - I was agreeing with the basic idea.
I've copied the PM's website info on it at the end of this comment.
"infringe on the sovereignty of Parliament" you say - do you mean the sovereignty to defraud the taxpayers/electors?! To take money under false pretences. They've demonstrated their unsuitability to have the ultimate power over such things.
Here's the official story on the proposal:
The Prime Minister has said Westminster cannot continue setting its own rules, as he outlined plans to reform the system of MPs’ expenses.
Speaking at his monthly press conference, the Prime Minister said independent statutory regulation of the system should be introduced.
He said he had met with the Speaker of the House of Commons and leaders of all political parties to discuss the proposals, and that all parties had agreed in principle.
The Prime Minister said:
“I believe that the keystone of any reform must be to switch from self-regulation to independent external regulation. Westminster cannot operate like some gentlemen’s club where the members make up the rules and operate them among themselves.”
He said the Government will make legislative time in Parliament to devolve regulation of expenses to an independent body.
Mr Brown said more proposals would be set out in the coming weeks after Sir Christopher Kelly publishes the results of his review.
Seebee - agreed: we have yet to see the details.
"infringe on the sovereignty of Parliament" you say - do you mean the sovereignty to defraud the taxpayers/electors?! To take money under false pretences. They've demonstrated their unsuitability to have the ultimate power over such things.Yes, I do mean that the UK Parliament should have, as in all other things (pace Europe), the sovereignty to determine the rules which govern the expense claims MPs are entitled to make, with no checks on that power save the power given to voters at election time. If not Parliament, aside from the electorate, who would you suggest determines and/or oversees the MP expense rules? And who would that body be accountable to (MPs?!)? I remain to be convinced that “some outside body” (other than the voting body public) is the panacea that many appear to think is the solution to this problem.
As noted in my earlier post, the way to reform the expenses system is for the public to put pressure on MPs to change the expense rules so that they are completely transparent (and if MPs and/or their parties fail to bring this about, then to punish them in the election). Once a transparent system is in place, public (read media and blogger) scrutiny of MP's expenses should do the rest!
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