Future
Well we’ve had two weeks now of facts about the venality of so many of our MPs and I think this information is from only 150 MPs out of our Total 648.
What’s to be done?
May I suggest:
- the fastest is to ask each MP to sign a summary of the expenses claimed during the last Four (?) years and ask them to sign the summary stating the expenses were WHOLLY, NECESSARILY and EXCLUSIVELY incurred in fulfilling their parliamentary duties. Specifically were they necessary? Specifically were they exclusively for Parliamentary duties, eg did they conduct any other private business on that day? Specifically were the expenses wholly and individually incurred in fulfilling their parliamentary duties? Lastly were the expenses reasonable, that is to a reasonable tax-payer. Was each claim for actual costs incurred?
- MPs can repay whatever sum they like, un-reasonable costs, notional costs not supported by receipts expenditure, claims for food, over-claimed monies, mortgage interest on a property subsequently sold at a profit, did they need a second home in London, did they milk the tax-payer for the full extent “within the rules”
- These revised claims then form the basis of the enquiry by teams of tax-payers. Unacceptable ones will be passed to the police or Inland Revenue for further action. The simplest reprimand will be probably the absence of an ‘Honest MP’ certificate. De-selection by their constituency team will be the most common sanction.
All excess monies will be repaid.
All legal penalties will be imposed.
All MPs who fail this scrutiny will be denied their pension, as they have proved themselves to be thieves and have brought our Parliament into disrepute.