MPs expenses

[slow corner back]

The galling thing about this whole affair is in the majority of cases the hoors were not breaking any rules.

When you make your own rules you have to be VERY stupid to break them. Self regulation is no regulation.

[Minder]

Sure werent the Shinners paying something like £4000 per month rent on a London flat when the going rate was £1500 ? You wouldnt mind those boyos in if you were a landlord.........

[Chrisowc]

Sure werent the Shinners paying something like £4000 per month rent on a London flat when the going rate was £1500 ? You wouldnt mind those boyos in if you were a landlord.........

Would be alright until you tried to put them out

[Maguire01]

Sure werent the Shinners paying something like £4000 per month rent on a London flat when the going rate was £1500 ? You wouldnt mind those boyos in if you were a landlord.........

Given that the landlord is also Irish...

Sure werent the Shinners paying something like £4000 per month rent on a London flat when the going rate was £1500 ? You wouldnt mind those boyos in if you were a landlord.........

Would be alright until you tried to put them out

See above. I doubt it would be an issue.

[glens abu]

Sure werent the Shinners paying something like £4000 per month rent on a London flat when the going rate was £1500 ? You wouldnt mind those boyos in if you were a landlord.........

2 flats,and claiming in total £1800 per month each,dont believe everything you read in the Telegraph cause dont know many rooms in London you could rent for much less than £450 week,also Sinn Fein politicians take home approx £300 week wages the same as every other employee of the party including,office staff,drivers,researchers,etc;I understand you may not like or agree with Sinn Fein but I can assure you all those employed by the party earn thier £300 as they work long hours for thier constituents.

 

[Onion Bag]

They are all a bundle of bastards, FACT

[Maguire01]

Sure werent the Shinners paying something like £4000 per month rent on a London flat when the going rate was £1500 ? You wouldnt mind those boyos in if you were a landlord.........

2 flats,and claiming in total £1800 per month each,dont believe everything you read in the Telegraph cause dont know many rooms in London you could rent for much less than £450 week,also Sinn Fein politicians take home approx £300 week wages the same as every other employee of the party including,office staff,drivers,researchers,etc;I understand you may not like or agree with Sinn Fein but I can assure you all those employed by the party earn thier £300 as they work long hours for thier constituents.

According to the telegraph:

The party's two best-known figures, Gerry Adams, the party leader, and Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland's deputy first minister, jointly claimed expenses of £3,600 a month to rent a shared two-bedroom flat in north London. A local estate agent, who knows the properties, said a fair monthly rent for the flat would be £1,400.

The three other Sinn Fein MPs together claimed £5,400 a month to rent a shared, modern town house, which the estate agent said would rent on the open market for around £1,800 a month. At other times some of the MPs have stayed in a third property, another two-bedroom flat.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5301510/MPs-expenses-Sinn-Fein-claimed-500000-for-second-homes.html

That's £9,000 per month - not the £1,800 you claim. And whatever about not believing what you read in the Telegraph, SF have pretty much confirmed the Telegraph's claims. So unless you know better than both the Telegraph and those making and receiving the claims (i.e. SF), you must be bluffing.

And yes, SF pay themselves an 'industrial wage' - fair enough, that's their choice.
Does the point not remain that they're ripping off the tax payer, whether or not they're benefitting personally?

[Minder]

I didnt see anywhere that Sinn Fein disputed the figures in the Telegraph article.

[saffron sam2]

They are all a bundle of b**tards, FACT

Just the Shinners? Or MPs in general?

[Tony Baloney]

They are all a bundle of b**tards, FACT

Just the Shinners? Or MPs in general?

All of them I'd guess, from top to bottom. It is clear there was very little oversight as to what was a justifiable expense. It's as well for Gordon there isn't a general election for another year or he'd be up the road.

[mylestheslasher]

I didnt see anywhere that Sinn Fein disputed the figures in the Telegraph article.

Adams was on the radio the other day and did not dispute the figures. In face he was quite proud that he was doing the brits out of money. He reckoned it would be a long time for them to pay what the owe. Can't say I disagree with him!

[Tony Baloney]

I didnt see anywhere that Sinn Fein disputed the figures in the Telegraph article.

Adams was on the radio the other day and did not dispute the figures. In face he was quite proud that he was doing the brits out of money. He reckoned it would be a long time for them to pay what the owe. Can't say I disagree with him!

Gerry and his cronies love HMGs money, sure they've been getting it in brown envelopes for thirty years. Allegedly.

[thebigfella]

The issue is really that they are using the living allowances to pay mortgage's on second homes and then selling them on for profit. I personally have no problem with an MP using taxpayer money for the upkeep/cleaning of rented accommodation (light bulbs etc... within reason) but I do have when they own the property. Expenses are there to compensate you for living away from home and to make sure your not out of pocket. They are not for supplementing your income as a number of MP's appear to think.

They are not using the taxpayers money to pay their mortgage - only the interest on the mortgage.

Hmmm some MP's are claiming for mortgages that don't even exist     Even if is only the interest as they may claim (apparently not having to justify it either), this is the scenario - buy a house, the taxpayer covers the interest on the mortgage while you own it. Refurbish/decorate (install a f**king sauna) the house and claim it back though expenses. Sell the house on and repay your borrowed amount pocketing a tidy profit, potentially avoiding capital gains tax too.

I do believe MP's should be able to claim a reasonable amount on expenses for nights away from home. However a second home allowance should only be payable for MP's that attend parliament for a minimum number of days per year etc

Agreed but I don't believe MP's should be able to use that allowance to own/buy their that 2nd home. There's a conflict of interest and this practice, on an individual employee basis, is pretty much not allowed in the private sector.

As someone who is used to travelling on business, living in hotels is not a pleasant experience however often unavoidable and for anyone with a job in 2 locations - a second home is a perfectly reasonable expense, and should be equal to the living standards of your main home

Same here, i've spent less than 30 nights in my own house over the last 2 years but what do you constitute as equal living standards?

If you spend 2 nights away from home, do you really need a 2nd home or is a decent hotel (or serviced apartment) not justifiable? I have 4 bedrooms do I need 4 in my accommodation provided by a client? Do I need a 42 inch flatscreen and sky in my work accommodation just because I have it in my main home (yes but I sacrificed 2 bedrooms for it  )?

[Maguire01]

They are all a bundle of b**tards, FACT

Just the Shinners? Or MPs in general?

All of them I'd guess, from top to bottom. It is clear there was very little oversight as to what was a justifiable expense. It's as well for Gordon there isn't a general election for another year or he'd be up the road.

Hard to see Brown being the man to save Labour even if an election is a full year away. Whilst I wouldn't want to see Conservatives in power, Cameron seems to be handling this issue a lot better than Brown.

[Maguire01]

I didnt see anywhere that Sinn Fein disputed the figures in the Telegraph article.

Adams was on the radio the other day and did not dispute the figures. In face he was quite proud that he was doing the brits out of money. He reckoned it would be a long time for them to pay what the owe. Can't say I disagree with him!

Yeah, to be honest i don't think SF would suffer from any of this the way other parties might.