How Low Can Our MPs stoop?

And they say irony is dead…..

Yep. Year 3 was a mess though. Not much work so I ran back into the womb of a big firm and back on PAYE.

T

As to the MP’s, yes, the seeking a method of abusing it is an aoutrage. In fact, the “Old hands” would have trained the newcomers how to get the most out of it.
When I went self employed, my accountant advised me how to fill out the forms so as to pay as little tax as possible, in years 1 and 2 I paid nothing but full NHI stamp. I have no doubt that similar advise on how to screw the system is given to MP’s.

And they say irony is dead…..

I think the keyword here is ‘genuine’.

MPs are allowed to claim for mortgages on second homes but some MPs claimed for mortgages when they didn’t have a mortgage. Is that a fiddle?

Yes, the system was open to abuse…..but the MPs didn’t have to abuse it.

This is so. Nowthen, in my case the rules got even stiffer. No private cars to be used on Co. business unless the car was part of the employees remuneration. The reason for it was that the 31p paid out a mile was working out more expensive than a fuel receipt from the garage plus a days hire from rent-a-brand-new-economical-french/German-shed. There is also the issue of cash-flow. The payout is hard cash from the company paid within a few days of th eexpense, the returning tax is months forward of that.
So, I made a deal with my boss, I would use my own car and also put in a receipt for the fuel actually paid for. I can sit in my car, smoke my head off, knowing where all the switches are etc. etc. A win win.

As to the MP’s, yes, the seeking a method of abusing it is an aoutrage. In fact, the “Old hands” would have trained the newcomers how to get the most out of it.
When I went self employed, my accountant advised me how to fill out the forms so as to pay as little tax as possible, in years 1 and 2 I paid nothing but full NHI stamp. I have no doubt that similar advise on how to screw the system is given to MP’s.

I don’t know where you got that idea? Perhaps because being the party of government it is even more appalling to see senior ministers noses in the trough than an opposition members. But they are all as bad as each other and every MP should pay the price be they Labour, Tory, Liberal, Nationalist or Independent.

Oh, you don’t have to tell me that they’re all at it. :rolleyes:

What I now find irritating about this is that there are people trying to pretend that this is some kind of party political issue, as if it were only one brand of MP that have had their noses stuck into this particular trough.

I don’t know where you got that idea? Perhaps because being the party of government it is even more appalling to see senior ministers noses in the trough than an opposition members. But they are all as bad as each other and every MP should pay the price be they Labour, Tory, Liberal, Nationalist or Independent.

Unfortunately, I suspect Sir Thomas Legg has done them an unintentional favour by exeeding the actual remit he was given. All too easy now for MP’s to bleat about moving the goalposts and suchlike.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8308825.stm

I do believe Sir Thomas has messed this up in a quite spectacular way! He has effectively moved the goal posts – I certainly would feel uncomfortable about precedents being set where, under the rules, a claim has been allowed and then all of a sudden it’s decided that it is not now allowed and the claimants are forced to pay it back. I’d be a bit naffed off if my employer did it. Yes by all means go for the fraudulent but, as seems to be happening more and more in this country, the baying mob seem to take precedence and all common sense goes out of the window. Still it sells newspapers I suppose…

What I now find irritating about this is that there are people trying to pretend that this is some kind of party political issue, as if it were only one brand of MP that have had their noses stuck into this particular trough.

I am well aware that there are (still) principled people out there, like as you say Frank Field, and Anne Widdecombe, it’s just that I merely wondered how many members of the public would do that themselves if they had the chance. I also agree that many of them should go, and many will, at the next general election.

What annoys me most over these expenses is that the average guy in the street is all self righteous about it and is up in arms, but how many of them can honestly say that if they had been in the same position they wouldn’t have acted the same way. It seem that Macaulay (I think), was right when he said that there was nothing more ridiculous than the British public in one of it’s rare fits of morality.

You might be right but please do not speak for all of us. Some of us are as principled as the Frank Fields and other MPs who have not abused the system. It is not self-righteousness but exasperation and anger.

The other point is that if people had done what our MPs have done, as employees of a private company, they would probably be out of a job by now. Which is, of course, where most of this shower should find themselves.

What annoys me most over these expenses is that the average guy in the street is all self righteous about it and is up in arms, but how many of them can honestly say that if they had been in the same position they wouldn’t have acted the same way. It seem that Macaulay (I think), was right when he said that there was nothing more ridiculous than the British public in one of it’s rare fits of morality.

Unfortunately, I suspect Sir Thomas Legg has done them an unintentional favour by exeeding the actual remit he was given. All too easy now for MP’s to bleat about moving the goalposts and suchlike.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8308825.stm

I think the keyword here is ‘genuine’.

MPs are allowed to claim for mortgages on second homes but some MPs claimed for mortgages when they didn’t have a mortgage. Is that a fiddle?

Yes, the system was open to abuse…..but the MPs didn’t have to abuse it.

All of this is true but actually it is even worse because of the secretly revised rules in the Green Book. Google it and read just how perniciously senior MPs, aided and abetted by the unlamented and ghastly Speaker Martin, adjusted the rules to suit the circumstances. And now we have in place a Speaker who’s election was a stitch up and who is as guilty as the rest of them in abusing the system.

We should be shot of every single MP who is guilty of using the system to their own ends, and that includes the Prime Minister.

Think the term is ‘Theft by finding’.

If there is a loophole in the expense system, which puts money in my pocket for a genuine claim then am I to not claim?

I think the keyword here is ‘genuine’.

MPs are allowed to claim for mortgages on second homes but some MPs claimed for mortgages when they didn’t have a mortgage. Is that a fiddle?

Yes, the system was open to abuse…..but the MPs didn’t have to abuse it.

They are so low they can limbo dance under the belly of a snake while wearing a top hat.

If I fiddled expenses at work, I am dismissed for gross misconduct.
If there is a loophole in the expense system, which puts money in my pocket for a genuine claim then am I to not claim? Example: –
We are not usually allowed to use our own cars but sometimes we have to, like setting off on a Sunday daytime. The legitimate claim per mile for a car of less than 2.0 litres is 31p. (I’ve forgotten the tax break limit which needs to be further claimed off the Inland Rapists.) OK, 31p. That’s based on fuel, tyre wear, depreciation due to the mileage, and a spot of tax n insurance.
But I purposely drive cars that never cost more than a few hundred quid, it’s taxed anyway, my insurance covers business anyway. Only the fuel matters. So, if I did a 100 mile trip, I am allowed to claim £31 for fuel. 100 mile would cost me about £14 (If £1.05 a litre). Is that a fiddle? Nope.

The MP’s equally worked the system to their advantage, in a far more significant way. The SYSTEM was/is wrong and has been since the friggin HP was opened. The present batch of MP’s is taking the fall for hundreds of years of it. And, I have no idea why I’m defending any M.P.!!!!

If you can afford to own a million pound home , ( no offence intended to those of you on this forum who do , m’lord .) you should be able to afford to decorate it and maintain the garden yourself.

I think we should be clear here that the expenses claimed by MPs should be those incurred while carrying out their job. Sometimes their job requires them to own a second home so that they can attend parliament.

However it also seems clear that some MPs have been on the fiddle and have got caught…

…and are now being asked to pay back money they have defrauded the taxpayer out of going back for the last five years (even if they have been happily defrauding the taxpayer for ten or more years).

Personally I think some of them are making a fuss because they know they’re not going to be MPs in a few months so that’ll be the end of the gravy-train…

…well, ain’t life a bitch! :diablo:

Why not means test the MP’s ,
everyone who claims benefits , unemployment , disability , tax credits , etc. gets means tested , a few hundred Lords , Ladies and MP’s should be easy to work out , most of them are in the Times list every year .
If you can afford to own a million pound home , ( no offence intended to those of you on this forum who do , m’lord .) you should be able to afford to decorate it and maintain the garden yourself . I think its called living within your means , can’t afford a decorater , then pop down to B+Q / Homebase , buy yourself some brushes and paint and do it yourself .
I would rather vote for someone that I bumped into in the DIY store on the odd occasion than some Eton educated tw@ with no clue about the real world .

spike

I’ll supply the gunpowder; timers, charges….you bribe all he relevant judges and other officials. We need somebody with access to the HP at night. Must be plenty of cleaners that will take a bung. The fundraising – even Pudsey bear would contribute, and a few of my not too proud contacts in Russia, Libya, USA. Guido failed, we must not.

Here we go again….. :rolleyes:

So lets commit another crime?

Where does it say that humans will be running their lives for the best interests of all?
Its getting late I’ll get my coat and go.