Why were Tony Blair's expenses shredded?
There has still been no explanation forthcoming as to why, amid all the other expenses details to have emerged from the Commons, only one named MP’s expenses seem to have been shredded.
It has been reported that other MPs’ expenses were also shredded. But I can only find the name of one MP to whom this has happened: Tony Blair. The missing expenses centre on a sum of £43,029 claimed over three years.
So we are forced to extrapolate from what we DO know of at least some of Mr Blair’s claims over the years. Surviving documentation reports refurbishment to his kitchen of £10,600.
A dishwasher was included at £515.75. This is an expensive machine. My Indesit cost £194.00 at John Lewis. But he could have had a Zanussi at £269.00. At £515.75 his Siemens dishwasher was significantly more expensive than the respected Bosch at £341 (all prices are current and taken from the John Lewis website).
As the dishwasher and the global sum for the kitchen are now, post shredding, all we have to go on, it indicates that, like other members of parliament, Mr Blair (who stood down as an MP in 2007) went for top of the range.
The question today is whether, like other MPs, Blair benefited at the expense of the taxpayer (property profits and tax relief – there is no tax liable on any of these “allowances”).
But in Mr Blair’s case the question is more serious. Why were his expenses details shredded? What kind of investigation, if any, is under way?
Related posts:
- Expenses, recession, war will dominate the election
- Lords' expenses: it's a wonderful life
- MPs' expenses: there is much murkier gravy to come
- How Boris copped it from Sir Ian Blair
- Jacqui Smith: fall guy for a doomed species
There are 60 comments on this post
I assume the shredded expenses & associated receipts are personal data within the meaning of the Data Protection legislation and therefore there’s a legal obligation to be able to reproduce them? Additionally, if the shredded information is required in relation to salary & expenses I always assumed these had to be kept for at least 6 years. Time for another independent investigation?
Re investigations… does anyone know the figures re the drug trial of the latest Cervical Cancer vaccine? How many recorded deaths are there as part of the drug trial, for example?
Blair was a lying corrupt politician who had a bigger nose in the trough than any of them. This didn’t stop at allowances and expenses but I believe he made much more money from his term as Prime Minister, and still is, an Israelie university has just awarded him 1 million dollars for gotng to war agaist Iraq! We are not being told just how much he made out of being Prime Minister.
He lied about the w.m.d., the danger England was in from attack by Iraq. Cook in his resignation speech said “As foreign Secretary I saw the intelligence about Iraq and I do not believe these weapons exist” Yet Blair went on telling lies. It was Blair who brought the Labour Party into disrepute through his wars his lies and his continuation of Thatchers neoliberalism which supported the bonus culture and the collapse of the banking system.
Brown is spineless and too weak to put anything right. Hoon and Parnell have today been exposed for cheating the tax man; for this they should be sacked immediately but Brown wants to turn a blind eye. ( no pun intended ) Make no mistake I do not want a Tory Government, but I can’t see how Labour can re-capture the moral high ground after Blair.
Well done for getting this out. Hope you stay with this investigation. So much news goes by and never comes back with a result and the stories are not concluded.
Jon – please stay on this one! Blair jumped ship because he knew what was coming and went off abroad.
If he can now be brought to book for something – anything – for the state he helped get the country into then it’ll be Xmas and Birthdays all in one!!
@ Tina Louise, your comments are very true and accurate…Some of the stories disappear from the main page and return only if the report says someone did something that was not acceptable…
Oh! Just another thought – wouldn’t these MP’s and Blair have kept copies for their own records to support their tax returns? So, perhaps this information might yet be brought into the public domain by the judicious use of a subpoena.
Blair is a 33rd degree mason and a bilderberger, he is protected by the devil.
Religious scribblings have for years been promising us the Antichrist in year 2000 and Blair was it, no other has done so much damage to our country, the wreck of the Houses of Parliament today stems from him .
Deja vu – the words “Nixon” and “tapes” are suddenly floating in my head.
Wonderful, Carry on, please
As my company car is taxed as benefit in kind, surely some of this stuff MPs are claiming must have at least an element of that? And in that case, records should still be on file.
It has been clear since he walked away from the parliament he largely ignored, that Blair is highly motivated by cash and so probably worked every expense claim to its limit.
The fact that his expenses have been shredded smacks of the kind of thing one would expect from a petty, Latin American dictatorship.
One thing puzzles me – there is a tradition of political leaking in the civil service that makes a colander look water tight. So why has none of this come out before – are the civil servants on the same gravy train?
Where oh where is the UK’s Barack Obama?
Documents shredded – I have to keep ALL my receipts for tax purposes for just under 6 years – why are they any different?
I’m still waiting for the answer… Why Were Tony Blair’s expenses shredded? What was so bad that they didn’t want anyone to see?
So…. with this latest revelation showing the great job that has served the country so well so far over the last decade in recent mind, the intention is to hand the choice of the next Speaker… again… to our current 600+ ‘government of all the talents’ (including in all from all parties under that glorious misnomer).
‘Because that is the way it has always been done’.
To mangle another of Stephen Fry’s inspirational heroes, maybe a case of ‘The unspeakable selecting the next un-Speaker able’? Again.
I. do. not. blooming. well. think. so.
Slightly off-topic, but….when Blair’s Labour Party secured victory in 1997 I was almost speechless with joy, pure joy; I really did foresee a golden future based on all those expertly-delivered promises he made – I really did. What they have delivered over the past 12 years has brought me back down to earth with a resounding thump: I can barely believe that the New Labour party I campaigned for – door to door – has presided over this massive swindle, a truly shameful education system, sinister political correctness, a huge rise in drugs-use and increasing violent crime – not to mention the surveillance society.
At that time New Labour had an amazing magnificently professional propaganda machine. The Spin Doctors were brilliant, for instance; in a letter signed by John Prescott and dated 19 February 1997 under the heading, The BSE crisis and government incompetence, it was stated; “We want this BSE campaign to run right up to the general election…” This was at a time when New Labour claimed not to be playing politics with this serious national issue. The supporting BSE Campaign Pack provided useful information to Prospective Parliamentary Candidates.
Unfortunately the same cynical manipulation of perception and reality pervades Parliament to the current day.
Yes it would be interesting to know which years these expenses covered and if they were shredded before they were 5 years old. Seeing as the rest of us are obliged to keep our business receipts for that length of time.
Of course, we are all appalled by our MP’s fraudulent expenses claims but I think we need to look at the wider picture. There is no doubt that, over the years, MP’s salaries have been overtaken by solicitors, headteachers, police inspectors and many others. While MP’s have been restrained by public opinion from awarding themselves excessive wage increases, local government salaries and bonuses have gone up exponentially. This is because local government representatives and officials are not not under the same scrutiny by the media as MP’s. As a result of this, I guess our MP’s have felt underpaid by comparison (perhaps they have a point) and underhand methods of boosting pay were adopted.
I think that if an investigation were conducted into local government salaries,bonuses and pensions and this was all made public there would be a major outcry concerning this also.
i look forward to local government being investigated also plus the finding of blairs receipts – no mp is underpaid, at nearly £65k this is practically triple the national average plus their office expenses are around £100k plus a self-emplyed person would have to play this out of their own earnings
The wider picture? Clarify please!! (rose tinted specticals perhaps)
Its outrageous that this has gone unreported, how has this not made bigger waves. Where is Blair now? he presided over most of this, for 11 years, and did nothing, its pretty irritating that Brown is taking as much flak as he is without Blair getting his share
The shredding of Blairs reciepts, is another example of blatant subterfuge on the part of Parliamentarians. However the expenses that are in the public domain still require further forensic investigation alongside that of Blair et al.
A small example of this, are the parrallels between Phillip Hollobone (Con- Kettering) and his very near neighbour Phil Hope (Lab- Corby). Hollobone representing the cheapest MP at face value and Hope the biggest repayer to date.
When a comparison of monies relating directly to the individuals is completed it shows that Hollobone and Hope have both claimed very similar amounts from the Additional Costs Allowance designed to compensate for overnight stay costs in london,and the incidental expenses claims for both MP,s are in the order of 10′s of thousands over the last 3 years. The major difference in total expenditure being the cost of staff as a result of Hollobones personal choice.
The key issues that bind these two apparent poles together is that when the monies paid directly to the pocket of the individual MP are scrutinised then Hollobone has benefitted in enhanced salary to a very similar order to the much vilified Hope.
Given the outpouring of holier than thou party politics, particularly in the wake of the speakers lamentable address to the commons today, we should not take our eye of the ball and forget to give due dilligence to every MP’s expenses prior to a general election.
( expenses comparision made via http://www.theyworkforyou.com – accessed 18.05.09)
Am very glad that this has been exposed and hope that there will be a follow up. Thanks
Lets be clear about this. No MP whether it’s the Prime Minister, the Speaker of this House, Leader of the Opposition or a lowly grunt is going to be found guilty of breaking the rules. They don’t break the rules, they make the rules. There are conventions in place that stop them being held accountable. There defence cry is let the electorate decide because they know people vote for party’s not for individuals.
The only way you will ever clean up politics is to do away with the unwritten constitution. And put in place a written one that actually holds members of parliament and the house of lords accountable for there actions and if they act dishonourable they are removed from office. Unfortunately Mps are opposed to a written constitution because its too hard for them to change. They like the Parliament Act because it overrides everything. Its an old but true argument that no organisation can be self governing it just doesn’t work. You would think that with hundreds of years of historic president MPs would know that. But lets face it its not interest to know it.
Why doesn’t that surprise me ! ? He wasn’t called Teflon Tony for nothing ! Me thinks he saw all this coming Economic troubles and expenses horrors. Bit like a rat deserting a sinking ship
Like evidence for WMD in Iraq, not available!
These bast….s are a rule unto themselves.
British public are powerless and weak. They’re able to do nothing against these corrupt politicians and rich corporate fat-cats, who ride rough-shot over the public, with total arrogance.
Do they care? Do they f…! They’re off to their multi holiday homes, in their private jets, to relax and wait while the furore has passed. Be back in time to manipulate the media stories just in time for next years election.
The comment above by Marian, is probably very true, there remains a treasure trove mountain of corrupt people just waiting to be exposed! They’ll all be busy shredding, covering up, bribing, etc. right now!
Jon, i’ve been thinking about what would persuade me to have confidence in the parliamentary process and I’ve come up with four things. Others might have more ideas.
Mine are:
1 Do away with whipping. If a government can’t get its policies through on a free vote, they are probably bad policies.
2 Only allow MPs to vote on a bill who have been present for at least 60 per cent of the debate. I know they are all very busy doing creative accountancy, but their place is in the house, listening to the arguments, not just turning up at the last minute to vote on party lines on something they’ve not even thought about.
3 Proportional respresentation. It might make things messier but it would also get a wider spread of views in the commons
4 No one to earn more from outside work than his salary as an MP. This would serve a double purpose of making their work as an MP the most important to them and also mean that those who took outside jobs would be doing things much closer to the work undertaken by their constituents.
A few MPs working as part time hospital porters or delivering letters first thing in the morning, would be much more relevant than being highly paid non-executive directors, voting through big bonuses for themselves and their pals.
Do one thing for me Jon. GET BLAIR before I die.
The ailbity to think like that is always a joy to behold
Trouser presses are tools of trade Jon!
Especially for bicycle-clipping MPs!!!!!!
We have a real, dangerous crisis in the political affairs of our country. I suggest what is needed is for the party leaders to agree on wholesale deselection of all MPs, for the date of a general election to be announced for some time this autumn, for all candidates at this election to be selected by the local constituency party and then vetted by an independent board as to their suitability for the position as MP before their candidacy is finally publicly allowed.
In this way unsuitable candidated can be eliminated and the power of a potentially small group of people who select a candidate in a safe seat on behalf of a party can be partly eliminated.
Expenses for MPs should be part of the Inland Revenue remit so they are treated the same as everyone else.
I applaud this news coming to light and encourage the call for further investigation. Personally I cannot recall a politician who has escaped so much as Mr Blair.
I also feel it is unfair that the current Prime Minister is faced with all the criticism for events which have happened over the last 11 years, while Mr Blair does not.
I hope that justice prevails and Mr Blair is held to account over his conduct. I have read that Mr Blair claims to be a religious man; however, in my opinion his track record is hardly that of a man with religious conviction.
You applaud, you cannot recall, you also feel it is unfair, and you hope that justice prevails..what do you think ?…don’t just comment..what do you think?
Peter- What do I think? Where do I start?
I applaud because I think it is great journalism that the issue of “Teflon Tony” and his “shredded expenses” has come to light.
I recall- meaning that many previous politicians, including Nixon have been forced to go over “wrong-doings”, and yet Mr Blair remains free to travel around the world and making money. In my opinion it is unfair that he does not face trial for alleged war-crimes and for the expenses issue.
I feel there are countless broken promises from Mr Blair and he has answered for none of them. The scapegoat seems to be the Prime Minister Mr Brown.
I could write a book on what I think of Mr Blair and the unfairness of him not being brought to justice. The shame has been that he continues to profit.
Does it REALLY surprise anyone that ‘His Tonyness’s’ expenses documents were shredded? NOTHING must be allowed to get in the way of him challenging Baroness Thatcher’s position in the history books!
I’m interested in knowing about fraudelent claims, perhaps in a league table by political party? But is it seriously a matter of public interest to know about the brand of dishwasher a politician buys. Will we get to hear the contents of every politician’s dustbin next? I’m sure Jon Snow does his excellent work for free, but perhaps the media comments would carry more weight if we could publicly access the salaries, expenses and tax returns of presenters like Jon Snow, Humphries on Radio 4, Paxman, et al…
Yes i think it is important to know the brands so that next time some poor blighter on benefits applies to the social fund they can say ‘my MP got a zanussi on taxpayers money, can i have one!
The greedy grasping money grabbing Blairs…that’s when the rot set in…..
Until then we expected our politicians to be pretty honest and up front, not like our Continental neighbours who expect their politicians to be corrupt.
Day by day, it just gets more depressing. We (the punters) really are a bunch of mugs, aren’t we? Maybe we deserve it. It’s dismal.
One good side-effect of all this: in the next few years, every other country’s political expense-account system will be quietly, radically, overhauled. They’re watching this, and it’s scary.
Who’d have thought: the Daily Telegraph may have inadvertently saved the careers of thousands of foreign politicians!
If there is only a record of what was paid to Tony Blair for his expenses and he can not provide copies of receipts, he should have to pay every penny back!
Teflon sofa’d Tony..what did you expect..he was a consummate power player – manager..he could see that events might turn…and played the long game..
I remember his leaving speech to the ‘so called’ faithful..’ Goodbye.. and I wish you luck.!.’
Peter, I agree with some of your comments but please expand..in what way was Teflon Tony a “consummate power player”..?
Don’t you think that the turn of events were of his own making? and that he could see the mess he had created and wanted to “jump ship” ?
Natasha said
Peter- What do I think? Where do I start?
I applaud because I think it is great journalism that the issue of “Teflon Tony” and his “shredded expenses” has come to light.
I recall- meaning that many previous politicians, including Nixon have been forced to go over “wrong-doings”, and yet Mr Blair remains free to travel around the world and making money. In my opinion it is unfair that he does not face trial for alleged war-crimes and for the expenses issue.
I feel there are countless broken promises from Mr Blair and he has answered for none of them. The scapegoat seems to be the Prime Minister Mr Brown.
I could write a book on what I think of Mr Blair and the unfairness of him not being brought to justice. The shame has been that he continues to profit.
Response…your detail is that…. detail..events have moved on….you should move on..deal with the now….Michael Martin ..I give him 3 days…the jackals are closing…they dine on dead meat and scavage to survive…he will be devoured quickly to a younger and stronger force…a hunger ..so close to.. and…for power…..who will wield the knife…Natasha ?
Peter..I request that your commenting on my blog is brought to a close….please move on..
(1) The initial blog reads written by Snow Cat..hence Natasha wrote???
(2) The blog title was concerned with Tony Blair and expenses; I therefore commented/detailed accordingly.
(3) It was my choice to raise opinions about his current conduct and the past because I believe they are important, hugely relevant and linked to the expenses issue. I also note from other blogs that I am not alone in this.
Like yourself, I am free to comment/detail as I so wish.
I would like to make a few more comments now that I have a bit more time on my hands. Firstly I’m not a Tony Blair fan but I do have a dim recollection that it was his cabinet that brought in the Freedom of Information Act. That there was a lot of opposition from his back benchers and that they had to force it threw. I wonder if that is why his expense receipts were shredded. Just in case someone would use them as leverage against him.
Secondly, I know channel 4 news has to protect its sources. Which I totally agree with. But what about these MP’s who were threaten to delay the release of the recipe details until after the election by any means necessary including using guerrilla tactics. They seemed to be having some success until the Daily Telegraph got in the way. That seems to be an abuse of process that should cost an MP their seat if not there freedom.
Thirdly, as far as I know MP’s get a salary. On top of this they get expenses. These are divided up into areas such as housing, food, travel, office costs etc. If something costs over a certain amount they have to provide a receipt. What seems to have happened is MP’s have fallen into a culture of believing that this is part of their salary to which they are automatically entitled. That providing details is a bit of a nuisance but it’s just part of the system. That is why we have such ludicrous claims. Again I have a dim recollection of MP’s wanting a huge pay rise. There being public opposition and deals being done. They did get an increase in salary, not as much as they would have liked but they also got their expenses allowance significantly increased. I think this is another example of the government doing something in a we’re not doing it sort of way.
I know that there is a lot of talk about getting the police to investigate and there being a case to answer but its rubbish. The system is just too lax. They’ll never be able to put a case together and it will just be throwing good money after bad.
The thing that irritates me more than anything else is the thought that there is one or more mp’s in a bar somewhere, blaming the freedom of information act for the current crisis, and it not even registering that it is their actions that are at fault here.
If there is any party that deserves another 18 years in the cold its labour. If anything it will get rid of the chaff. But the other party’s are no different. You get a change in government but you never really get a change in MP’s. They’ve all been there for decades. Even if they lose their seat they get a job in their party and wait until another one becomes available. Worst case scenario they go back to being a councillor.
There will be cross- party co-operation in order to restore public confidence in the Houses of Parliament. Largely because people are becoming aware that there is no such thing as the British Constitution. And if there is one thing that terrifies the Houses of parliament, the House of Lords and Whitehall is the thought the people might demand one. John, on the 7 o’clock news you asked an MP why wasn’t the queen commenting on the current crises. I’m surprised (well not really) that he didn’t tell you that she is “constitutionally” forbidden from interfering in the running of parliament. And if she did there is an act of parliament ready and waiting to make her an ex queen.
The first time I saw teflon on TV, years ago, I remember thinking “slime ball” I still can’t beleive how people voted for him; he just comes across as a con man who will say whatever is necessary to get what he wants. He has no shame or integrity–his views and arguments changed from day to day, and his arogance meant he believed he was above the law. He should be tried for the host of times he has purjured himself e.g. over the lies over Iraq, or in this issue when shredding his expenses. He was required to keep them. To say “it wasn’t me who shredded them” should not be good enough. In my business being self employed I would be liable if my staff shredded important documents I have to keep for tax purposes; so should he. He should be made an example of. Claiming “I was incompetent, and couldn’t handle storing them” should not be an acceptable excuse.
Brown is similarly culpable: although Blaire instigated this mess (with no hint of shame or irony when campaigning on an anti sleaze ticket), Brown sat with him at a high level for years, and didn’t object to what was going on. He deserves to be hung out to dry too. It is ironic he is being judged as the worst prime minister we ever had, when he was never voted for.
Is it no wonder the outcome for the country has been a disaster when new labour beleived that politics with no morals or shame, but with unbridaled greed was reasonable?
The situation has been compounded by the implicit link between top bankers proceeding in a similar way; with the link between new labour and the bankers implicitly being via the regulators as set up by Brown: so they all thought it reasonable to proceed in a moraly bankrupt greed fueled way, and then were shocked with the outcome, claiming “it was a global problem… nothing to do with us”. shame on them all.
I hope they end up in front of a court for their actions from the top down.
To say ” we will be judged at the ballot box” is not sufficient. They have not been brought to task for what they owe, and have swindled.
e.g. Hazel Blears: she may have payed what would have been CGT owed: but has no shame about keeping the cost of her refubisments, and interest on the loans required to fund the projects which the tax payer payed for in her property business.
British people are realizing that their protests fall on deaf ears. No surprise there then.
History shows that corrupt, arrogant dictator governments and, individuals, always ignore and try silence the public. These corruptpeople really have to be removed by civil or, military force. It’s the only language they understand.
The chance of this happing in this controlled UK is probably nil. People are weak, powerless and cowards but decent, in that they want to stay within the ‘law’. Unfortunately, laws are created to protect by dictator governments. So, we’ll have to wait for the manipulated date of the General Election, for our limited choice of revenge, by choosing between the few evils.
Can “Mass Manipulation” explain what a 33 degree mason is. I am presently reading about the Bilderberg group but have never heard this term. You know we can all cheerfully get it out of our systems on Blogs like this but the serious side of it is there will be a day when freedom of speech will disappear completely and bloggers will have to toe the party line. Here we all are complaining about a few mirrors, moats and massage chairs and the “big boys” are still retiring on MASSIVE incomes. They are the nameless and faceless elite. We don’t know the half of it and won’t know until it is all completely out of our control. We’re possibly already there. Since I’m coming clean here I thank God I’m a Christian and at the end of the day would forgive anybody who is truly repentant. I don’t really want Jon to “Get Tony Blair” I just want to live in a decent world and love my neighbour.
Perk of the position/power/influence that goes with top job ?
Or perhaps he a bought an office shredder on expenses…
Would be interesting to see the latest sales stats for shredder manufacturers. Buy one /get one free – time!
I am more than disgusted that Tony Blair has not been made accountable for the fact that his expenses were shredded. It is against the law to shred any documents they have to be made available for 6 years.
Apparently they were being shredded in his last year of office. Could this be because he was the biggest fiddler of them all ? how else do you suppose he built up a property empire whilst PM, amassing to £10 million. The extravagant purchase of the house in Connaught Square for some £3.5 m was telling us then that there was something drastically wrong. How could the Blairs afford this on their joint incomes of £300.000 per year. One does not have to look any further for the reasoning behind the expenses being shredded.
Then there is Mandelson. I am not alone when wondering why he keeps reappearing after being disgraced so many times. Was not one of the disgraces to do with a mortgage? My own thoughts on Mandelson is that he knows quite a bit about Blair and a few others. He has something on them, why else would he constantly reappear in top positions after being “found out” and then for Blair to make him a Lord. It stinks…
Then we have Michael Martin, lets not feel sorry for him, this is the man whose wife spent £4,280 of tax payers money on taxis to take her shopping. then there was the £50,000 she spent on airline tickets. Not forgetting the vast amounts they paid on ‘doing up’ their grace and favour home. Then he spent hundreds of thousands of £’s which was the taxpayers money to fight in court for these expenses not to come into the public domain.
The whole lot of them are corrupt and nothing more than a bunch of theiving, condescending morons. Our country has been ruined by this government and the man behind it all is Blair. He should be investigated and now! Why did he hand over the reigns to Brown? He knew that the muck would one day hit the fan, so he walked away hoping to become President of Europe. Ha-ha…
As for Brown when Chancellor he was stating no more ‘Boom & Bust’ whilst on the side selling off our reserves, am I alone in thinking there’s something wrong there. As an unelected PM he has sold us down the river. Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, John Prescott,Jacqui Smith, Margaret Beckitt, Jack Straw, Tony McNulty, will go down in history as the people who bled our country dry for their own needs. I want my country back along with it’s dignity. It’s time for heads to roll and for this government to go. I now know how the public felt in the French Revolution.
He’s escaped war crime prosecution (to date), but this is better than nothing.
Like many people I wanted Teflon Tony up in court to answer as war criminal for dragging us into an illegal war, hanging out the army to dry for not even bothering to kit them out properly and killing even more soldiers than would have otherwise died.
Teffer’s & his equally odious wife were and still are the most blatant free loaders going, that his expenses have ‘vanished’ down the shredder is no surprise. This ‘christian’ lied & lied again to get us into war, does it really come as a surprise his expenses are missing.
He should pay back every penny if he can not substanciate it, and like the road tax evasion fine pay back 5 times the debt for every month he’s had the benifit of it.
Perhaps if MP’s were penilised as heavily as the general public they may feel less inclined to fiddle their expenses. If we jail them we are still paying for them, make them as bankrupt as their morals.
As for the new speaker, who will elect him – the rest of the dirty barrel the previous ‘bad apple’ speaker sought to protect, they turned on him in flash didn’t they – there’s deffinatley no loyalty amongst theives is there?
My suggestion for a new speaker – THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT of course, who on earth else could be trusted?
Get an independant inspector in, not some hand picked toady, make sure we know who pay’s his wages before you accept any alternative ‘rules’ then you can throw out the MP’s self serving ‘rules’ and make them toe the line and accept the basic tennents of right & wrong, that they are not above the law.
Ditch the ‘Right Honourable’ it’s a bit of stretch really isn’t it, might be room to ‘do’ them there under the Trade Discriptions Act for fibbing on that one!!!
The new buzz word is ‘Transparency’ what about
1) honesty = receipts for EVERY penny
2) justifyable expenses – unless you are a shepherd you don’t warrant getting your dog food free! you might just swing it if you are blind but if you’ve already been caught with your hand in the public purse for your mistress, well just don’t even go there David Blunkett.
3)Publication – Publication – Publication
Nothing beats dishonesty like close scruitiny
I have no sympathy for Gordon Brown, he held Tony’s hand for years and did nothing to stop the free for all, nor do I enjoy the spectacle of David Cameron desperatly trying to claim the ‘I’m a whiter knight than you are GB prize’ he’s only rooted out a couple of token tories, how much was it he handed back???
Of course he wants an election, he wants THE job, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be any better at it.They will spend the next 15 years blaming labour just as labour have spent the last 12 years blaming them.
Force the bad MPs out & have by elections, let all the parties take their chances knowing, their opposition will rake up all the muck against them. Me, I shall make sure mine is a protest vote every time, because the ONLY time any one of them are interested in the general public is ONCE every 5 years when they want your vote to get them onto the gravy train!
TORY – LABOUR – LIBDEM – NO DIFFERENCE
I don’t want ‘career MP’s’ – I want an honest decent minded person who will defend my rights as a citizen and help legislate to protect me & my country. The SNP, PLAID CWMRUY, UKIP, the BNP anybody’s raving loony party, Uncle Tom Cobbley et al look like picking up a lot of votes! and a lot more people will stay at home so we will be governed by people with no moral mandate to do so, fantastic future eh!!!!
[...] down (hooray!) has been built up over more than a decade. And looking back, Channel 4 News have a story about the missing details from former prime minister Tony Blair”s expenses claims. Top end [...]
How can Labour stop tax loop holes and off shore tax havens when Brown allows Blears Hoon and Parnell to get away with cheating the Capitol Gains law by flipping their second homes. All three should be expelled from the Labour Party immediately.
we shuode all have the same
sorry
When will we see real justice Blair is not above the law there must be records hidden showing what he has been up too and these money grabing civil servants including local councils, young men and women are dying for a country that is as much corrupt as any African nation, yet We allow them to get away with it im ashamed to be British.
Someone please pursue all the above and expose the corruption then punish them all.
K Davies
why was teflon the only one to have no records left?
because it was probably him who leaked (and sold) the information to the papers, not directly tho as he always got other people to do his dirty work.