MP Expenses Publication: Public Suspicion and Scepticism Justified
This morning the House of Commons has finally published heavily redacted details of expense receipts submitted by MPs over the last 4 years. Here is an example (courtesy the Guardian):
According to the Press Gazette, The Daily Telegraph will publish fuller details in a special supplement next weekend.
Even now, after one of the greatest storms that the British political system has experienced in a century, much information has been omitted. Again, from the Guardian:
The online publication excludes all rejected claims and all addresses, disguising the extent to which politicians used the “flipping” tactic to redesignate their second homes to maximise their income.
The long-awaited publication – which followed a year-long court battle and weeks of revelations in the Telegraph – covers printed documents and receipts relating to MPs’ claims for a series of parliamentary allowances between 2004-05 and 2007-08.
Even the publication of these limited details has been the subject of a rearguard action for more than 12 months.
If the whole caboodle hadn’t been leaked and purchased many of the most egregious abuses, such as address flipping in order for MPs to harvest more expenses payments, and attempted abuses, which even the Fees Office did not swallow, would have remained hidden.
Telegraph Justified
To me the Telegraph’s exercise in journalism, even with all its faults, quirks, over-assumptions, and mini-vendettas, looks even more justified now than it did a six weeks ago. They should be apologetic for the things they got wrong, or went to town on unjustifiably, but proud of the overall achievement.
Finally, I reassert the principle that I have argued before: the only body that can really hold politicians to account is the population itself, and that requires complete (not redacted or legally restricted) transparency as a basic building block.
New HIGNFY Game
I also predict that “Fill in the Redacted Expenses” will replace “Fill in the Missing Headlines” on Have I Got News for You.
Tags: mpexpenses, daily telegraph, house of commons, members of parliament, political reform
Categories: All WW, Media, News - Current Affairs, Political Blogging, Politics
