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:
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£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”:
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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.