General Chat

I'm not a jealous or an envious person by nature.

I couldn't give a hoot if someone has what I haven't.......I'm happy enough in my own little bubble.........

BUT reading today that the average claim for expenses per MP last year was £20 000 REALLY gave me the hump.....when you consider that the new National Ins rise will hit anyone who earns 20 000 or over for their entire income all YEAR !!!! What on earth do they think they are doing !!!!!!!!

£200 odd quid for a DVD player when you can get one in any supermarket for £20!!! If they want state of the art THEY should pay over and above what's needed......not the tax payer !!!!

I am in favour of them earning a fair wage......but I do resent being clobbered by extra taxes while they continue to trough away at tax payers money .

Sorry I know it's been done to death but it makes me so MAD. They are just not living in the real world. No wonder the country is in the state it's in !!!! x

Know what you mean Muffs, we are also pensioners and not on benefits......

our boiler could do with replacing and our loft insulation up grading, but we dont qualify for the grant!!!

Bob

mind you, on the plus side, due to a fire locally, we had a fire risk assesment done free, by the fire brigade, and they replaced all our battery smoke alarms with wireless ones, and because I am quite deaf, they installed a pillow buzzer and a buzzing pager for the phone,. FREE......

No MP should be allowed to claim expenses unless it is related to the job they are doing. Things such as petrol/travel expenses for the job yes but anything that is for their own personal use then no.

When I worked, among my many jobs was to deal with the petty cash, which the reps. put their expenses through. Many a time I drew a line across items, because I thought they could pay for it themselves. It is the age old story, it is not their own money, out of their own pocket, so they will claim for anything and everything, they can.
Julia in Derbyshire

I sooo agree with you... it infuriates me to know that garden gnomes and hanging baskets have been claimed for... when some folk have to decide between eating or heating!!

I will defend Maggie T here *hangs head and blushes* I know, I know... she had a lot of stick.... but... her hubby was a multi millionaire industrialist when she met and married him... so it might just possibly be that the £mega million home she moved into wasn't funded by the tax payer, lol... sorry!! I do know that they moved into Downing Street FROM a £multi million home... well, by today's prices, anyway..... so she is guilty of many things, but maybe not that one, lolol

Love

Daff xxxx

Oh, I know, Joan... I generally agree... but I do think that where this one incidence is concerned... well, the benefit of the doubt and all that... she has big shoulders, has Maggie, she takes the blame for many many things... I just happen to believe that her home was bought from her own money, not taxpayers, that's all.... I will go and google in a moment, but I have a feeling she didn't draw a full wage, either... although I am very very fuzzy on that!! I am sure someone will be kind enough to put me right!

And the expenses row has been stewing in the background for a long time... I remember it being brushed under the carpet a couple of times over the years... little voices crying out, and being hushed up... but I think Joe Public has had enough... and this coming out into the public at a time when everyone else was being asked to tighten belts because of recession, with fatcat payments to failures... and then the expenses.. well, explosive stuff!

Love

Daff xxx

I don't see why MPs should get any more wages. They get a damn fine wage and if they don't want the job, don't take it. If they have to have any expenses, they should be limited to the confines of their office.

Same accusation could be levelled at Tony Blair who conveniently shredded his expenses and charged us for the privilege !!!!!!

I don't really know what i think a fair wage for an MP is tbh. I understand they earn about £62 000 (could be wrong on that) BUT when you factor in all the freebies they have been troughing under the name of expenses it probably amounts to a hell of a lot more in real terms.

I'd do the job for half that .........tbh........and be bl**dy grateful for it especially the protected pensions and all other perks involved that no one else but them seems entitled to these days

**having said that I suppose the theory SHOULD be that you get what you pay for ......and that you'd want to encourage the best people into politics and make it an attractive option.......though in this case I don't think it applies....they're clearly not fit for purpose.....the lot of them make me sick at the mo xx

I believe responsibility for the claims office is ultimately down to the Speaker of the house.

Again I could be wrong on that one xx

SEE NOW IF YOU WERE A MP Muffy

you wouldnt have to paint your own hen house

Tsk Joy... that was a duck house... and the ducks didn't even like it, lolol..... there you go, Muffy, a duck house going spare... wasn't that one turned down? The reason the media latched onto it was cos the MP thought it would be ok to claim for it in the first place!! Goodness... his pad was big enough to have a bloody moat in the first place, lol!!

Love

Daff xxxx

When you read what has been claimed for it does seem that once in the claiming mode they claimed for anything and everything no matter how big or small. I had a giggle at one, can't remember which MP but one male MP claimed for a sparkly black toilet seat!!!!!

One I thought strange (again can't remember who) but he claimed to redecorate after water coming through the ceiling. Why didn't he claim on his house insurance? or didn't they bother with that?

I'd bl**dy love a duck house :0( lol

Now THAT I am jealous of !!!!!
Mind you it was most likely bigger than my garden is !!!! xx


**You're quite right Rita........he needs to get this country in order first before he flings money elsewhere. Let the countries that are out of recession do it........we should concentrate on our own mess for now xx