MPs and their expenses: A Politics Decoded weekend special with Garbo
Is it any wonder we have apathy?
Last week the Commons voted down any changes to the expenses set up that MPs currently benefit from. At a time when the perception of our MPs is at rock bottom when it comes to sleaze and money, coinciding with the credit crunch and talk of recession, they really have done themselves no favours.  Is it any wonder election turnouts are so low and voter apathy is so high?
An MPs duty
The reality is, most MPs do earn their money, but like any organisation there are bad apples. These representatives of the people are in the spot light and are paid with our hard earned money and as such they should expect to be whiter than white; after all, they are passing the legislation we live by and are while I do not expect them to perfect, they do have a duty when it comes to looking to be leading by example.
Surely one of the key roles of politicians is to engage the people in to the political process. So why did the Commons show such contempt for this massive issue by showing such a poor turn out? Not only is the perception created that they are on the take, but that they don’t care either.ÂÂ
The guidelines are what are fundamentally wrong
Like it or not, there is public concern over the way MPs make their money – whether it be cash for peerages, party donations or generous expenses. In all these cases there have actually been very, very few MPs who have fallen short of the guidelines. But the public outcry must surely ring alarm bells to them that we are not happy with those very guidelines.
It is not right that MPs can vote on their own pay rises. It is not right they can claim hundreds of pounds expenses with so few checks and balances. It does look odd that a married couple can claim double on housing and what made them think that the rejection of the so called John Lewis list was ever going to please the electorate. But most of all, how did they ever think that transparency would ever be achieved when it is the MPs themselves that are the judge and the jury?
The problem is not that MPs are doing wrong – in almost all cases they aren’t. But then again, I would never do wrong either if I were the one in charge of where the goal posts were positioned, in the same way turkeys would not advocate Christmas dinner given the chance.
It should have been and should be independent
This inquiry should have been independent and MPs should have all expenses, wage rises and other financial issues taken out of their hands immediately. Not because they are doing wrong per se, but because it looks wrong and the temptation for the few is clearly more than is acceptable by the British electorate. In some cases this may mean a better deal for MPs who are often stopped from voting on a pay rise due to overbearing media attention – and may well contribute them to taking money on the side.
Shame on the majority
Last week’s vote was the final straw for me, shame on the 20 Tory MPs and the 140 Labour MPs who voted for keeping second home payments and the so-called John Lewis list. You have further contributed to the stench of sleaze that is suffocating real politics in this country.
Article Series - Politics Decoded 2008-9 by Garbo
- Using the Tories for our own, slightly warped, enjoyment: Politics Decoded with Garbo
- Should he stay or should he go?: Politics Decoded with Garbo
- Time for a change: Politics Decoded with Garbo
- Europe in Ireland’s hands: Politics Decoded with Garbo
- The Gambler’s Gamble Update: Politics Decoded with Garbo
- How Stalin became Mr Bean… Happy Anniversary Gordon: Politics Decoded with Garbo
- The FAQ of Great Britain: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Politics Decoded Extra: MEPs
- MPs and their expenses: A Politics Decoded weekend special with Garbo
- David Davis has failed: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Glasgow East - One last banana skin: Politics Decoded with Garbo
- Summer Loving: Politics Decoded with Garbo
- What should Labour do next? Politics Decoded with Garbo
- If Gordon goes, then Labour must call a general election: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Labour needs to start governing and there is only one way to do that: Politics Decoded with Garbo
- In defence of the USA: by Garbo
- Boris Johnson and CCHQ - a match made in hell? Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Two nations divided by lame duck leaders: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- It is time for Brown to end this farce: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- JK Rowling and THAT donation: Politics Decoded Conference Special by Garbo
- Brown’s speech - The turning point? Politics Decoded Conference Special by Garbo
- This wouldn’t have happened under Campbell: Politics Decoded Conference Special with Garbo
- Tory transport policy: Politics decoded conference special by Garbo
- The end of the world as we know it? - Politics Decoded with Garbo
- Mandelson is back: Politics decoded by Garbo
- George Osborne does it again: Politics Decoded conference special by Garbo
- Reports of Labour’s decline are exaggerated: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Two forgotten men making very different comebacks: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- The Story of Lance Corporal Jack Mizon: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Changing George Bush for Barack Obama? Yes. We. Can. Poltics Decoded by Garbo
- Barack Obama’s Generation & the legacy we should be looking for - Politics Decoded by Garbo
- It’s time David Cameron’s Conservatives made a move: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- It is time the Good Men did something about Robert Mugabe: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- The Class of 2008 End of Term Reports - Grading Clegg, Brown, Cameron and all: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- The Tory Threat - Ken Clarke, David Davis and George Osborne: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Peace off you plonkers: Greenpeace’s Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Obama, Barack to the Future: A New Hope - Politics Decoded by Garbo
- British jobs for British workers: Gordon Brown’s rivers of blood - Politics Decoded by Garbo
- New Labour - where did it all go wrong? By Garbo
- Some MPs give the rest a good name, Norman Baker I salute you: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Barack Obama’s brush with failure: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Europe, Lisbon, the economy, opportunity and opportunists: Politics decoded by Garbo
- Enough with the blame game, what would you do? Politics Decoded by Garbo
- It’s not sleazy if no rules were broken. Well, the rules ARE broken: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Smeargate: Much ado about nothing - Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Labour’s last chance to save itself: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- The real race to No.10 starts tomorrow: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Brown makes another expenses mistake: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Brown should have gone a year ago and the whole party knows it: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Cameron to become the moral judge? Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Time to get invloved in politics: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Knee jerk reactions, European elections, scandals, politics and all that: Politics decoded by Garbo
- How to solve a problem like Europe Part One: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- How to solve a problem like Europe Part Two: Politics Decoded by Garbo
- Tories and Labour have a miserable week and yet end up winners (of sorts): Politics Decoded by Garbo















[...] but I note the controversy in the British Parliament around MPs employing their own staff and some advocating a move to a centralised “employee management service”) then there must be a TOTAL division between administration and politics. The EU Parliament is not [...]