MPs

Hm been thinking a great deal about the expenses debacle that is consuming the nation and the Telegraph at the moment, and after much consideration I have come to conclusion that it is a fuss about very little.

MPs have appalling levels of pay kept low because every time the independent body recommends a substantial pay rise it gets knocked back because the public won’t like it. However a nod and a wink system was brought in to place whereby MPs could claim substantial allowance for all sorts of things in order to give them a decent income.

It was simply a back door way of giving them a decent level of income.

Was there abuse, of course, but probably very little.

The book case claim was for the housing of 40 years of Hansard - perfectly legitimate under any circumstances.

Michael Martin is in the dock for resisting the publication of these expenses - can you blame him? The public don’t understand. The press don’t understand - well they do but they need to sell papers.

Heaven forbid my own working expenses were ever subjected to public misunderstanding.

Clergy can claim for heating for part of their homes, for paper, stamps, paper clips, bookcases, desks, computers, cleaning (normally understood to be your wife), biscuits, tea, coffee, meals provided and so the list goes on and these are set against income and tax relief is granted on these costs.

I claimed for all of the above. Guidance is given each year as to how much you can claim for certain items without falling foul of the tax or NI system.

Without these claims I couldn’t have fed and clothed my family.

What is a scandal is that an MP is paid £62,000 a year and a newsreader £92,000 or Paxman close to a million from public funds.