MP expenses - Harriet Harman does the dirty

[louisiana]

Fabulous local MP is driving forward a measure to conceal MPs' expenses (i.e. to conceal that certain MP's fund pergolas and so forth at taxpayers' expense):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jan/16/mps-expenses-exemption

See this Facebook page (if you are a Facebooker) to find out more:

http://www.mysociety.org/2009/01/17/6-days-to-stop-mps-concealing-their-expenses/

or check out what the good folks at MySociety have posted on the issue:

http://www.mysociety.org/2009/01/17/6-days-to-stop-mps-concealing-their-expenses/

I'm all in favour of appropriate money being spent on things that are necessary to enable our representatives to do their jobs (in other words I'm not one of these obsessive 'small government' people) but I think there should be transparency to stop abuse.

Please do join the fray (e.g. write to your MP) if you agree. There's plenty of help around to help you e.g. Write To Them.

[wee quinnie]

Is it just me, or does anyone else translate MP as both Mockney Piers and Michael Palaelogus before they think of Member of Parliament?

Sorry!

[PeckhamRose]

Ah the ol' John Lewis list.

Of course they should come clean; it's our money they're spending.

I shall write my letter.

[????]

Do these people really no utnderstand why voting is fallng and people are so disengaeged with politics? Bring back Guy Fawkes...self serving, egoistical, hypocritical twats....I hate them

[Michael Palaeologus]

Which people? Mockers, Me or the Members of Parliament?

[Keef]

What ???? said.

How many people vote because they really believe in a particular party, and how many of us actually vote just to keep a particular party out, in a kind of "best of a really shite bunch" kind of way?

[indiepanda]

I can't say as there is any political party who represents my views if you go by their policies. Some parties do to some extent but no one enough that I really feel happy about voting for them. And then of course they rarely stick to their policies anyway if it suits them to do otherwise.

I think you get some people in politics who are genuinely there because they believe in what they stand for, but an awful lot of them just seem to be there because they love the power, forgetting they are meant to be there to serve us.

I still can't believe they are allowed to vote for their own pay increases. Surely it should be pegged in line with the average earnings index or some other objective measure - like average public sector pay award for example.

[SteveT]

The problem with this forum is, that the users are so well informed and are able to bring the obnoxious behaviour of our

politicians right in your face so that I end up angrrrrry and upset by their bare faced, thick skinned, brass necked......

bunch of conniving...no good.......

A Limited company which makes profit has to produce accounts for all to see, and yet they go spending this money without

any accounting to anyone.

The damned sauce, I'm fuming.