Tom Harris MP is a very brave man … wins Max Miller Award
Tom Harris MP, this morning, on the Haltemprice and Howden by-election.
What a waste of two hundred grand*
…
* the cost of the Haltemprice and Howden by-election to the public purse
I have to acknowledge his chutzpah. A Government Minister complaining about £200k as a “waste of public money”. This is of Charge of the Light Brigade quality.
So I present Tom Harris with a Max Miller Award for being a Cheeky Chappie beyond the call of duty, but he doesn’t need the snazzy tie – he already has one of those.
Max Miller has met his match
If we remember the context about Ministers and not wasting public money Tom’s effrontery becomes clear … we shouldn’t forget last month:
-
£500m million written-off after a Hokey-Cokey involving advanced upgrades and eight Chinook helicopters which should have been ferrying troops around Afghanistan for the last 5 years, but instead have been sitting in hangars in the UK. Eight Chinooks would be a significant proportion of all those operating if Afghanistan for the RAF at any one time.
Not to mention the House of Commons “situation”:
-
The Ballses and the Wintertons both “finessing” tens of thousands a year from their publicly funded expenses allowances to pay for unnecessary mortages/rent. At that’s without mentioning the £20k a year the Prime Minister himself drew for 3 years to pay for a flat teh mortgage on a flat only a few minutes walk from the one he had the right to use in Downing Street.
- And – to throw a frivolous one in – remember Andrew Pelling’s Early Day Motion (£400 or so a pop?) offering condolences over the death of Rick Stein’s dog.
Enough said?
Bearing in mind that Tom did not vote in the recent “MPs’ allowances — External audits and no more furniture” vote that rejected reform, talking about David Davis’ by-election as “What a waste of two hundred grand” is really not clever.
Wrapping Up
For me, £200k is a small price to pay for a chance of keeping the 42-days debate alive – whether it worked or not, and I’m delighted to contribute to it from tax.
[For Davis-o-Sceptics, Sadie is coming out with Westminster Watch in an hour's time.]
[tags]david davis, ed balls, howden and haltemprice, tom harris mp, yvette cooper[/tags]
Categories: All WW, Comment, Knockabout, News - Current Affairs, Politics
You are absolutely right. Good points all, 200K is money well spent compared to a lot of stuff the government wastes it on.
How much did the speaker spend in court trying to suppress details of MP’s expenses getting out?
>How much did the speaker spend in court trying to suppress details of MP’s expenses getting out?
Good point.
Er … £200k.
From Heather Brooke:
“By contrast, our three-year-battle with the House of Commons for a similar breakdown has been met with obstruction and obfuscation at every turn. Michael Martin, the Speaker, has sanctioned the expenditure at least £200,000 of taxpayer’s money preventing the public from finding out how public money is spent. Even now, we must wait until the Autumn for a full breakdown of individual claims and receipts for all MPs’ allowances.”
>How much did the speaker spend in court trying to suppress details of MP’s expenses getting out?
That would be … er … £200k.
From Heather Brooke:
Our three-year-battle with the House of Commons for a breakdown has been met with obstruction and obfuscation at every turn. Michael Martin, the Speaker, has sanctioned the expenditure at least £200,000 of taxpayer’s money preventing the public from finding out how public money is spent. Even now, we must wait until the Autumn for a full breakdown of individual claims and receipts for all MPs’ allowances.
dear sir,
my name is brijesh kumar
what is max money
Max Miller is the man in the photo on the right.
He was an old time comedian.
Tom Harris is the man in the photo on the left.
He is a new time comedian.
His father was not Mr Worthington, apparently.