Some Media Advice to Sir Thomas Legg : Don’t Get Filkinned
Yesterday Sky News chased Sir Thomas Legg around Whitehall with a camera crew, trying to get comment from him. He politely demurred from giving them an interview or answering any questions. This is a mistake. It frustrates the broadcast media when they can’t get access to the players. Legg needs to fight his case in the media or the political class will succeed in doing to him what they did to Elizabeth Filkin, the former Parliamentary Standards Commissioner hounded out of office by Speaker Martin, aided and abetted by that ridiculous blowhard Sir Stuart Bell. MPs have got where they are by deviousness and their ability to crush opposition. Sir Thomas has taken on hundreds of these vipers…
Guido suspects that Legg is being overwhelmed by the backlash – as far as Sir Stuart Bell is concerned he clearly didn’t understand the brief given to him by Gordon Brown – he was supposed to produce a whitewash which illuminated only “a few bad apples”. He wasn’t supposed to hose down the whole porcine political class. They are squealing because you are making them pay for their years of troughing at the public’s expense.
Only a few months ago MPs from all sides were claiming they “did not understand the rules” and they were blaming their misdemeanors on “the system”. Now that Legg is enforcing the rules within reasonably generous parameters, they claim he is retrospectively changing the rules. The same MPs who only a few months ago claimed they did not understand the rules now suddenly have a detailed understanding of the expenses criteria. Bullshit.
They also claim that the Fees Office approved everything. The Clerks in the Fees Office had no authority to exercise fine judgement on the rules – MPs jealously kept that right only for themselves. The Clerks just rejected some of the most ridiculous claims. This argument is specious, MPs signed every month that their expense claims were made “wholly, exclusively and necessarily”. The Fees Office merely took them at their word and on their honour.
Public opinion is behind Legg. MPs still don’t get it: they should never have been claiming for groceries, moats, ironing, porn, duck houses, Sky sports, digital cameras and all the rest in the first place. If you want to stand at the next election, deliver the repayments.
Sir Thomas has one fearsome weapon at his disposal. If MPs won’t pay the public purse back, tell the public. You can name and shame miscreants. Do it to them before they do you in…
Now is the time to expose the Troughing Pigs. They must not be allowed to get away with their piggish greed.
Dave is missing a trick here, at least Irrelevant Clegg wants to broaden Leggs’ investigation, they are getting away with the big, life changing, troughing
Have some balls Dave, come out for the little people, start the change
If Legg wills the ends, he must will the means.
Start talking, Legg. And don’t stop until they shut up and pay up.
Say and do anything it takes.
Legg for Eliot Ness award,
Dave Komodo, lizard lips, flicking tongue, stupendous combover has a Tax Payer funded 14 bedroom house in the rolling countryside of Oxfordshire. His state subsidised mortgage is paying for it.
He figures best to keep schtum!
Legg for President of Europe.
Bluuugh Bliar!
An excellent summary (and dismissal) of the various arguments re. MP expenses Guido. Exactly how I feel about it too. Pay up or push off parliamentarians! – and if it’s all too much, go off and earn £100,000 each in the private sector as you keep telling us you could would be worth!
P.S. Agree also re. Stewart Bell – he is such an asset to the anti-troughers!
“Dave Komodo, lizard lips, flicking tongue, stupendous combover…”
Nothing can beat Arthur Scargill’s socialist combover you Liebore twat.
Taxpayer-funded is stretching a point, MB, although he is not as clean as he should be,but in his defence hasn’t flipped four times like Darling or claimed £500000 a year like Ball Scooper.
Just for balance we ought to mention McDoom’s taxpayer funded flat in Westminster valued at £700,000 neatly “flipped” to Mrs McDoom just before the shite hit the proverbial. Yawn.
Absolutely right, they are feeding the small fish to the public whilst the big troughers get off scott free.
Nice ruse eh? £500 quid here and there hurts nobody but the big fish will not want mortgage claims to come under scrutiny
The election run-up is going to get nasty. – For them who besmirch us, the decent hard working electorate with simple aspirations of reward for sweat.
Support our union-not theirs. Vote UKIP
Vote ABG instead.
Arterial Blood Gas? Doesn’t sound much of a vote-winner?
Abominable Brown Gordon?
anal back passage gouging
After Brown’s gravytrain
Oh yes Ivor and support your chief trougher Nigel?
and…in any case: UKIP are about getting our sovereignty back first and foremost. Maybe I’ll vote for LIB/Lab or Conservative in years to come given the democratic chance?
I seem to recall UKIP MEPs were very happy troughing it in Brussels. So how would their proposed Westminster counterparts be any different?
Publish and let the piggies be damned Legg. Our money, our right to know.
Farage was the one who exposed it. FFS. You know, people go on and on about kinnocks getting this and that but it was Farage that leaked the detail. Give him credit even if you are pro-europe. He did this long before Telegraph ran with the MP’s expenses and so did Martha Anderson who was the Chief Accountant at the EU who was sacked for whistleblowing about the money and waste corruption.
Farage leaked it did he?
Didn’t stop him troughing away at the same time.
Hypocrite.
Why are you so blind? UKIP are as bad, if not WORSE, than the rest.
http://www.chad.co.uk/news/Mansfield-Conservatives-switch-to-UKIP.5728900.jp
Anonymous, at least UKIP want us to have the ability to still hold our Parliamentarians to account.
Tories, Labour and Liberals want to turn our Parliamentarians into EU diktat rubberstampers.
For God’s Sake our Union doesn’t work either. If you cannot swallow being run from Brussels then why should we swallow being run from London. I’ll tell you what, you get out of Europe and we will get out of this God Forsaken Union and we will all be happy, but no you won’t because you think you have a right to tell the world how to run themselves. Where do you think the Americans got the idea.
Talking up the UKIP vote is a ZNL plot to win a couple more years in power. I wish we could be a bit more clever on this.
Max-UKIP is promissing a method of voting on europe which the others’ haven’t delivered. If anyone is to blame for the Tories not forming the next Government it will be Dave Cameron. Not those who vote for wanting to keep our UK sovereignty. Hell, I would promise to vote Labour after that if you like.
Sorry Ivor, we are likely on the same side and clearly profess the same views on EUSSR; however as per my other comments the problem with a referendum, particularly if it’s a straight yes/no (which it will be after the ratification of Lisbon), is that there is no Plan B.
Logic suggests you and the other UKIPS on here need to vote tactically next time to get ZNL out as a first priority otherwise you will have lost full stop; or alternatively you are Alastair Campbell and I claim my £5.
Too right it is. Consider this:
Party Whip: Just go through the lobby there to betray your country to the EUSSR, there’s a good little boy.
MP: Running all the way, sir!
Party Whip: Off you go through the lobby there, and mortgage your consituents to the bank, there’s a good little chap.
MP: Thank you for the privilege, sir. Skipping all the way!
Party Whip: Looks like we’ve been rumbled! Could you all hand back a little bit of your troughing, to get Guido off our case?
MPs: F**k right off! What do you think we are? You don’t tell us what to do – right of free speech and all that.
The point being, How come the scum can consider defying the whips when it comes to disgorging a small proportion of what they have stolen, but none of them stand up to the whips on a little matter of betraying the country?
It really is time for a revolution to clear the lot out. Britain needs Independents in every constituency, and this time we can’t afford to leave it to others. Remember, if we play ball with this lot, they’ll stick the bat up our arse.
“They are squealing because you are making them pay for their years of troughing at the public’s expense”
I will ONLY believe that when they are made to pay back the serious scams such as house flipping and non existent mortgages. Making them pay back the cleaning and gardening fiddles is designed to create a lot of noise and hide the serious stuff.
Quite. There’s TONS of quite serious fraud been committed against the public purse. It’s only any different from benefit theft in scale of the amounts involved. I want to see scores of these fuckers in the nick doing proper bird for it all. Failing that you can shove your phony “democracy” right up your arse.
Can some one from the TAX office please tell me if these benefits in kind have been taxed at the appropriate rate?? And if not Why not. Getting public money to renovate property then selling that property on Is I suggest Fraud. No more No less. If I take money from my Company to do this I would be jailed by the Revenue. If the Crowns subjects are in prison for this exact same offence can some one from the Police explain why These piggies aren’t. Our Defence against the excesses of the State have shown their true purpose in politics to line their pockets. Shame on you. We must have a list of Politicians who have not been so self interested.
Because the police no longer serve the people. They have been politicised and are no better than ZanuLieBore’s personal Stasi.
The house flippers are some of the biggest Troughing Pigs of all – name and shame them again! They are hiding behind the cleaning and gardening claims.
All troughhers in DT alphabetically
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5297606/MPs-expenses-Full-list-of-MPs-investigated-by-the-Telegraph.html
Yes the house flippers were effectively in a taxpayer funded and tax free property business. There is absolutely no excuse of not understanding the rules here, this was a knowing and calulated scheme to make serious money.
Seems to me that Legg’s been ordered to only raise the minimum to provide the smokescreen, covering up the serious stuff. Yet again they wriggle their way out of the proper shit. It’s no good, chaps. We can’t get them ‘cos they make the rules and police themselves… No wonder Legg’s reticent about facing the media.
The house-flippers and serial property accumulators are much worse than mere crooks. If they’d just nicked a few hundred thousand pounds to build up their post-government rental business it wouldn’t be so bad.
Not so bad you say?
Aye. Not so bad. The problem came when their every policy decision while in government has been to increase the value of their ill-gotten portfolio by falsely rigging the housing market with artificially low interest rates, restrictive planning laws and salting the economy with 35bn quid every year to pay one million bed-wetters and aresholes at vast expense to drive up the cost of available housing.
Even now that the bubble has burst their policy response is not to let the market take its course and allow housing to fall back to more affordable levels. Naaaah. The policy is to slash interest rates so that folk can still afford their insane mortgage payments and, even if made unemployed their interest will be paid, thus they can kid themselves that their house really is worth 500,000 quid even though it consists of about 20K worth of materials. At most. And that they made a sensible decision to commit the next twenty years of their life to some shit undersized, badly built piece of crap.
This entire economy has been smashed onto the rocks just so a few Labour MPs could acquire property portfolios without worrying about a sensible, prudent government putting up interest rates and ‘devaluing’ their post-Westminster retirement plan.
Once you understand this simple truth all Labour’s imbecilic economic decisions are put into context.
Excellent piece
The house-flippers and serial property accumulators are much worse than mere crooks. If they’d just nicked a few hundred thousand pounds to build up their post-government rental business it wouldn’t be so bad.
Not so bad you say?
Aye. Not so bad. The problem came when their every policy decision while in government has been to increase the value of their ill-gotten portfolio by falsely rigging the housing market with artificially low interest rates, restrictive planning laws and salting the economy with 35bn quid every year to pay one million bed-wetters and aresholes at vast expense to drive up the cost of available housing.
Even now that the bubble has burst their policy response is not to let the market take its course and allow housing to fall back to more affordable levels. Naaaah. The policy is to slash interest rates so that folk can still afford their insane mortgage payments and, even if made unemployed their interest will be paid, thus they can kid themselves that their house really is worth 500,000 quid even though it consists of about 20,000 worth of materials. At most. And that they made a sensible decision to commit the next twenty years of their life to some undersized, badly built piece of crap.
This entire economy has been smashed onto the rocks just so a few Labour MPs could acquire property portfolios without worrying about a sensible, prudent government putting up interest rates and ‘devaluing’ their post-Westminster retirement plan.
Once you understand this simple fact then all Labour’s imbecilic economic decisions are put into context.
We hear that the chipmunk paid the CGT but others did not.
Actually it is my belief that CGT is hardly the issue. They should be made to pay back the WHOLE of the profit deriving from the tax-payer funding. That is – IF the taxpayer funded half the mortgage then the taxpayer gets half the profit. If the T/p funded the lot they get the lot. Obviously some detailed workings needed on such matters as “improvements” such as conservatories, expensive bathrooms and kitchens and the like. But you get the idea.
As a matter of interest at least 108 MPs are stepping down next year. They will all get extremely generous payouts. There isn’t enough time to change that but , where they have failed to pay back what is ordered, those payouts should be withheld. I’m sure that would be entirely legal.
A lot more than 108 MPs will be stepping down next year. And most of them won’t be voluntary either.
Hahahahahaha.
Wankers.
She probably did not. The system demands an assesment then a bill from the HMRC. If she did not complete a tax return,HMRC could not complete an assessment of tax due. Any payment would have been credited and netted off against future assessments. Therefore she will have reduced her tax liability in future years. i.e no repayment and conveniently no further discussion possible under data protection regulations
Was the cheque ever presented for payment and cleared? Until then it’s just a piece of paper.
Vipers is exactly the right word for this lot. Should be stamped on and chucked in the dustbin with the other rubbish.
I’m thinking of starting a tumbril fund….anyone have a spare guillotine
No, but I’ve got some needles
And some popcorn …
Agreed on recovering all the gain from flipping not just the CGT avoided. Don’t wory iof this means MP’s have to sell poperty – it isn’t theirs anyway so should not be a problem.
Upcoming election and “re-settlement” wedge fo ex-MPs should provide ample opportunity to offset claims simply and quickly.
Bell is a funny chap isn’t he? He’s doing agreat job of showing why Legg is right every time he appears on TV. Go for it “Sir” Stuart!
Widdi was amusing too, when she said that if MP’s couldn’t be trusted to maneg the simple matter of their own exes, then how could people trust them to do their job properly! Nail hit firmly on head, but complelety unintentionally!!!
There are some jobs where if you are dismissed you automatically lose your pension rights. Dismiss the miscreants for fraud.
Don’t wait for the soft option of a general election just sack them now.
This will also effect by-elections, and let me see,, 108 extra Conservative seats equals Tory majority ie Government, equals referendum on Lisbon. good thread easy innit
It’s not a one-way street Davy. While most of the worst mortgage troughers are on the government side, there are plenty of Tories who are completely discredited as well.
Davy as long as your remarks are not Party Political I would agree with you and everyone else on the flipping. This is this most serious bit of money grubbing. How many of them have got into Parliament and made serious money out of us. A clean out is called for, and after that a good clean out of the House of Lords. There are too many people making lots out of Public Service with a good pension at the end and they ain’t Civil Servants. How did Baron Martin make a fortune and has never held a serious job in his working life?
Poor old Legg. A simple brief to embarrass the maximum number of Tories and exonerate the vast majority of Labour MPs and he can’t even get that right.
I assume that Clegg is confident that most of the home “flippers” are Tory and Liebour
Since they have most of the MPs that would be a yes. It would bring the Odd Couple, Ed and Yve onto the radar at last if he did.
Its a game of media impact, and how much mud will stick.
Under quieter scrutiny the Ball’s house moves are backed up with excuses that can be made to look reasonable.
Is that the usual load of bollocks from the Balls spin machine? She didn’t look very convincing when she had to endure Ian Hislop last Thursday.
Not to mention our esteemed Chancellor and Prime Minister, the former did it quite a few times and Gordon did it to decorate his North Queensferry Home.
Davy: sorry to ruin the wishful thinking. Have you looked at the excuses? They might not pass in the court of public opinion, but they’ve got a fair chance of passing in terms of “change of circumstance, change of house”
Don’t forget the Hoonerable Blinky was reimbursed by us for his poppies as well, piece of shit
Shahid Malik claimed twice in subsequent years for his Remembrance Day wreath — despite being told it was against the rules the first time.
Rat, 5th columnist scum.
Did anyone else see Cameron on GMTV yesterday? He was standing on a street, posed nonchalantly in front of a shopfront which read COOPER BEARD.
They’re an estate agency in Bedford with a curiously familiar logo.
Are you suggesting that Blinky might be a friend of Dorothy?
Marriage of convenience, it makes so much more sense now
What is it with NuLiebore and dubious sexuality?
Lord Rennard still hasn’t paid back anything as far as I’m aware.
Crap. Cameron has got away with claiming the max mortgage interest even though he does not need a mortgage and has only had to pay back the removal of Wisteria.
Brown looks good because he’s paying back a lot of dosh (which he can easily afford) with a smile on his face.
I tell you this is designed to let MPs get away with just refunding the small change and keeping the proceeds of their large frauds.
There is no means test in the rules.
Quite. And I’m sure many MP’s could afford £100 per night hotels or even train fares themselves.
I think its more to do with what is taking the piss. At some point those mortgage payments are taking the piss.
It should be a question of whether they have claimed legitimate business expenses or not. I would not be happy subsidising my employer by paying business expenses out of my own pocket simply because I was flush. The individual’s personal wealth is irrelevant.
It would be far far better if those MPs needing somewhere to spend the night in London were provided with government housing of some form or other, that they could make no profit from. A “political barracks” would work.
Government provided accommodation would be cheaper, closer and much more convenient.
But, Government provided accommodation for MPs would be a massive target for terrorists
So there’s no downside to this then.
I agree, wave through the real money, big fuss over the gardening
At least through the endeavours of Guido and all co-conspirators the story is growing, rather embarrassing it has reached Washington Post
Chump Parliament of Whores indeed
Not yet on Drudge – but there is ad for Morrisons supermarkets.
Even the banana republics are laughing at us.
Yep! no bananas and no Democracy and definitely no sunshine.
Alan Simpson refusing to payback £500. He’s not standing next time so he, as per others standing down, doesn’t give a toss. Arsehole.
Along with quiet a few others i suspect.
PMQ.s should be fun today for sure at thsi pint in time a must see but with call me dave hardly showing leadership i cant see this being the number one topic – how out of touch with the real people they are STILL!!!
QT tomorrow mmmm well with the BMP buffoon on there anything could happen BUT ……………HOPEFULLY THIS TOPIC will swamp the whole show
This might be a way out for Simpleby of the NU Liebour Broadcasting Corporation to ‘silence’ the BMP
Though i am sure he will come across as a very reasonable person – UNLIKE our MP’s totally in touch WITH THE PEOPLE…………….you could not make this up.
I hope he uses that fearsome weapon Guido.
Bell is an utter clown who with every TV appearance , geriatric rant and patronising out down does more damage to himself, his party and the parliamentary process.
I raelly don’t care who gets hurt.
He doesn’t do the Geordie Nation a great service either. Why, if I didn’t know better, I would think that all Geordies are greedy blustering ninnies.
He’s not a geordie, he’s from county durham( mackem territory) and (sadly) represents us on Teesside(smoggies)
We never heard a peep from him when Corus was going tits up, now he’s all over news…….
Sad thing is, he’ll still be MP for Middlesbrough after the next election
I thought he was from Gateshead – a posh Geordie?
If he’s a mackem then all the greater shame on the good folk of the Boro. Have a mate who has just been offered redundancy at Corus after many, many years work there.
He’s never cared about the people of Middlesbrough, rarely visits. In fact I believe he lives in France most of the year, supping wine and writing books.
Absolute freeloading scumbag
Then why, the fuck, do they vote for him?
They vote for Labour not him. It will be interesting come the next GE – it will be a real test of traditional loyalties.
Stevo you have my sympathy, we have a very similar problem with Labour here in Scotland. We keep hoping that the idiots will see that they get no support from their ‘very good constituency MPs’ who are lining their pockets at their expense and detriment.
It’s embarrassing that he is the Commons spokesman for the Church of England. I must have a word with my old chum Rowan (or +Cantuar as he styles himself these days) to see if he can’t drop a word in the right quarters. Unfortunately these jobs are in the gift of the PM rather than the ABC and that miserable old Calvinist at Number 10 has no love for the good old C of E.
Sir William, he used to be an Athiest until he got into No 11 and 10. Says a lot.
You’re bang on the money again, Guido. I hope Legg understands that he does have the vast majority behind his decency. Don’t fear them crooks. Good always overcomes evil. Every time.
All going well, legg will be well appreciated after the next election, if a decent Party with a decent leader is elected to serve us.
Big If
Legg needs to take on a spin doctor.
Meanwhile, in la-la land, the party goes on it seems!
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — Four out of five workers in London’s financial services industry expect their bonus to increase or at least match last year’s payout, according to a report by Morgan McKinley.
About 40 percent of London executives surveyed said they will get a similar bonus to 2008 and 39 percent said they would receive a larger payout, the survey of 200 financial services professionals found.
Fully story: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNw4FhhPATg0
Who gives a flying fuck how much money shareholders choose to give away in terms of bonuses? Three cheers to any worker, banker or otherwise, who negotiates a good deal for themselves.
The problem was that McFuckwitts’s regulation, aided and abetted by all that Basle crap, didn’t require the banks to carry sufficient capital. Get that right and the bonuses will take care of themselves.
p.s. I would imagine the lowest of the low will be getting a higher bonus than this time last year, after all, the square root of fuck all is fuck all
You don’t think it’s just a teeny bit annoying that we face 25 years of debt/tax slavery thanks to their MASSIVE bailouts for incompetence, yet they’re still be rewarded at the same stratospheric levels as before, less than a year later? Talk about missing the point! This is wholesale looting of taxpayer’s money. The public now largely own this institutions, remember. All that’s happened is the switch from them looting private money to looting public money.
It’s not them, you twats. How many times do you need to be told that the banks that were bailed out were in Edinburgh and Newcastle, and went bust because of overpaying for a crap Dutch bank and insane mortgage lending? Nobody in the City has taken any public money – we just carry on funding the rest of you.
I don’t know, Sir Victor Blank was a teensy wee bit greedy when he grabbed Gordies handout of HBOS wasn’t he.
…..bailed out what’s more, to save the political skins of Scots gangsters ruining the country and pretending to be a Government.
What ho a Nuremberg Tribunal for Economic War Crime and Treason to detain and try this alien cabinet straight after the election?
The taxpayer owns a gnat’s bollock of the financial industry. The high street banks are tiny small-fry in global banking terms. We own roughly 200 Billions worth? Or something in that region, when the value of the Banking sector in London alone is measured in the high tens of trillions if not hundreds. Banking globally is measured in the quadrillions.
We, the taxpayer will be shafted for a good 15 – 25 years to pay off the debt that the Government has run up to pay for their disaster, which the banking speculators helped to cause, but we own Jack Shit of the banking sector!
Howl and complain as much as you like, but it was “La La Land” otherwise known as the City, which was funding much of Brown’s public spending excess.
I like to think we funded essential public services, and the spending excess can now be seen as debt. La-la Land is the 60% or so of the country that has no clue how to earn its own living in a competitive global economy.
We can safely assume Legg won’t make it to the House of Lords.
But it looks like Jacqui Smith will and Michael Martin already has.
Yup. Gorbals Mick has moved onto a bigger trough.
He’s done very well out of being a former union trouble-maker, I must say. He was obviously well cut out from the start for a life of being a totally useless drain on others. Core Labour, in other words.
He knows where the bodies are buried I would say or holds a high position in the Parliamentary Lodge.
Alive?
Release the letters. If they have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear.
(Oh god, this sounds like Jackie Smith, the fishwife of Bathplug.).
Funny how Damien Green affair report is released amidst the shit storm over Leggovergate and the clearance of Jackie Splff.
Then Mikail Martin is enobled, which begs the question how did that hoon get ermine, with the answer the same way minks get minks.
Perhaps there is going to be a freight train crash of PMQs today, with MPs rising to ask Goron Broon, when he paid up? It would be funny if wee Hazel of Leatherbikes got up and asked him to show off his wad.
Thank you Guido for your observations. However, when are we going to hear the details of Tony Blair’s expenses.
All shredded…a bit like the credibility of Westminster
As you say, they were shredded long ago…
The fucker even charged us for the shredding.
I don’t mind the job of sitting in a warehouse and piecing together the shredded expenses of Blair.
We – the 3 million unemployed – could do a good job piecing it all back together – and wouldn’t Blair be shi..ting himself as we got nearer and nearer to completing the job!
Presumably he didn’t shred the Fees Offices records aswell?
Don’t they back up their servers? the details are still there!
There will still be paper records of Blair’s expenses tucked away safely somewhere in that building – unless of course they have been deliberately destroyed to conceal evidence.
Ask our former Speaker.
OT/
I was just reading a review of ‘Growing Up bin Laden’, a memoir by Najwa, one of Osama bin Laden’s four wives.
She reveals Osama lost sight in one eye after an accident when he was a young man…Oh, and his favourite radio station is the BBC.
Reminds me of someone…can’t think who right now.
There is a difference. Bin Laden hasn’t managed to destroy the country.
It started in America.
Google able danger
Perhaps we could start a list of,’ one eyed idiots for the unwary.’
Bin Laden
Gordon Brown
Nick Griffin.
Errr……..I can’t think of any more, but I’m sure they’re out there.
That Egyptian hook-handed fucker,
Blunkett,
Long John Silver
Nope, can’t think of any more.
Bog off, it was Long John’s Legg he lost, not his eye
Hissing Sid the Trouser Snake
One-Eyed Joe the Miller (for Oh Mr Porter! fans)
Captain Birds Eye
Football goalkeeper bloke
Cyclops
Monocle Man
It was Gordon Banks of Stoke City. Now there was a goalkeeper of supreme class prior to his sad road accident and probably one of the best of all time. Always remember the amazing save he made against Pele’ and as Pele turned away arms raised Banksy got to it and flicked it over the bar from ground level.
Pele said years later that in his entire football career and even after he had never ever seen a save like it or understood how Banks even got to the ball in the first place.
Thats when footballers were genetlemen and heroes and did it for the love of the game…. unlike now.
Gordon Banks a hallowed name.
There’s a dvd called One-Eyed Monster starring Ron ‘Whopper’ Jeremy.
Highly recommended to Mr Timney-Smith!
That explains why Bin Laden wasn’t one of the martyrs flying a plane into the Twin Towers. He couldn’t get his pilot’s licence as he told his devoted minions.
I am sick to death of 9/11 conspiracy theories. The trouble is that is all there is!
Ever since the joint chairmen of the official 9/11 commission and their chief legal council and several commission members have disowned their own report as being untruthful, there is NO official truth about who did what that terrible day.
So point me to the truth if you can, because ALL I can find is conspiracy theories and NOTHING else.
They All Have The Same Story “If Your Boss Said That You Had to Pay Back Some Of Your Expences Because He’s Decided That He’s Been Paying You Too Much You Wouldn’t Like It ! And the Presenter On The radio Said To Him : It Sounds Like You’ve All Sat Down In The tea Room And Come Up With The Same Excuse !
PAY UP TIME YOU THIEVING LOWLIFE SCUMBAGS ! YOUR CELLS AWAIT !
If my boss decided that I had been claiming unjustifiable expenses it would expect to be dealt with under a disciplinary procedure, and if found guilty, would probably be fired for gross miscounduct without serverance and have the amount docked from my final pay.
MP’s are being asked to repay the money and carry on is if it never happened. I can’t believe that they aren’t just rushing to write the cheques and move on.
This line from MP’s that they are being unfairly treated due to the fact that we the ungrateful unwashed are unreasonably trying to extract what was rightfully theirs is pathetic.
If they don’t believe in the retrospective application of justice, then they are in the wrong job.
If they don’t like the retrospective application of new interpretations of old rules, then they shouldn’t have set the precedent.
Seth – well not quite. You wouldn’t have to be “found guilty” in the normal legal sense. All it would need would be for your boss, having held a disciplinary hearing and given you your say, to decide that he still had reasonable grounds to believe that you had cheated. If you’d had a 20 year unblemished record he MIGHT accept that you had made a genuine “one off” error.
How many of these “chumps” have an unblemished record? Many have been in a feeding frenzy to grab as much as they could. Even claiming for Kit-Kats.
If they don’t like the retrospective application of new interpretations of old rules, then they shouldn’t have set the precedent.
Seth I know you mean well but by using such language as above you are perpetuating the false narrative being put about by MP’s. The Rules ARE NOT being interpreted retrospectively they are BEING APPLIED retrospectively after years of neglect. These claims were NEVER within the rules either now, then or ever.
Precisely, they seem to think that the fees office have the power to legitimise a faudlent claim, or make honest what is patently dishonest.
If the fees office has allowed such blatant abuse as that of Jacki Smith and her second home allowance, then they have, in effect, conspired with Smith to defraud the tax payer and are just as guilty.
As for Legg, well done, butI don’t give much for his chances of still being in his job come Christmas.
Sorry, but I have choked at some of the things that Legge has let them away with. Jim Devine, who was asked to appear in front of the Star Chamber has been “cleared” how do you clear someone for producing false paperwork for suspicious work done and for shelving in his constituency office which seems to be residing in his local Pubs cellar.
I think the this man has strict instructions to go so far but not far enough.
He has not gone anywhere near far enough! That the MPs are squeeling that they have to pay a few hundred, to a few thousand, back shows how light he has been. The flippers should pay every penny of profit that they have made from the sales of their houses and their unofficial property empires, plus all the tax back and every penny should go to the treasury.
whenever I was in trouble as a small child and started crying, my father used to tell me he would give me a good reason to cry if I didn’t stop.
I was in trouble because of something I did. I was told what I had done wrong, why it was wrong, and what the consequences of that thing could have been. I knew that any punishment I received was just and proper and I knew that I had no reason to bitch and moan about it.
These namby-pamby spoiled little shits and shittesses need to be fucking grateful that they have got off so lightly so-far.
If I had my way, they would be in the poor-house to know what being poor is really like, before they are hung!
Well they soon want a refund of overpaid tax credits to the very poorest in our society. These are not people who have set out to fleece the taxpayer but people who have been allocated this cash.
All MPs have double standards they are a fucking disgrace, Why has the MET not arrested the bastards
We scratch backs.
We also thrill Homes Secretaries and police authorities and the BBC and anyone who will listen with subtle stories that insinuate terror and horror. We need money. We know where to get it. We know how to get it. We can scratch your back too. In our special way.
ACPO, that would be the private, run for profit ACPO then wouldn’t it?
it’s not against the law when law-makers do it
Or law-enforcers. Anybody remember that ancient TV cop “Fabian of Scotland Yard”? Uncannily prescient title.
“Over 1,000 officers who misused corporate credit cards have been granted a secret amnesty by Scotland Yard officials, after an internal audit revealed widespread abuse of the charge card system”.
http://www.thelondonpaper.com/thelondonpaper/news/london/news/met-police-grant-amnesty-over-credit-card-abuse
I have just one question for any party to get my vote in the next election
The party that will treat the thieves as thieves and bring charges of fraud will get my vote
and that includes the dishonest flipping bar stewards
with luck, that should take out most of the cabinet, and also the P.M.
heres hoping……
May I commend you, if everyone did the same we might even get decent government.
It would only take most of the non-voters to do it!
22% of the electorate gave labour a 66 seat majority. 40% did not vote.
Get out and VOTE THE BASTARDS OUT OF OFFICE!!!
Tell everyone
I think legg is being a little mean and unreasonable.
this is a bad thing a lot mean and unreasonable would be better.
Too right.
The contents of the letters should be in the public domain, and the consequences of non-payment should be more severe. What about doubling the amount if non-payment within 21 days? It is good enough for us mere mortals in the application of parking fines etc.
They deliberately wrote the rules to make it possible to claim considerable sums without any supporting evidence. Legg is not changing the rules retropectively, but applying the over-riding principles that:
1. All the money was paid for goods or services actually received.
2. The goods are services were required entirely and exclusively in the discharge of their duties as MP.
3. The money should cover only additional costs incurred as a result of being an MP.
When you apply these principles to the claims you can set reasonable limits on how much you should be able to claim for domestic cleaners, food, etc.
Yep, the blame game continues into the second half now. Legg needs a very good PR man – any suggestions? How about Max Clifford, eh? That could be fun. And perhaps Matrix Chambers could get in on the game, too.
Harman’s ‘interview’ on Today was truly disgusting. Legg would be wise to be interviewed on Sky, rather than the BBC. That’d stoke things up a bit and put the BBC into the frame.
All thieves, robbers and fraudsters in the UK will have been heartened by the interview of The Leader of the House of Commons on Today.
Harriet repeatedly refused to accept that the ex Home Secretary’s behaviour was in any way wrong.
So, there you go; anybody who can rob, steal or defraud now has the “Smith” TM defence.
Just say sorry ( for getting caught ), then you can keep the money and probably get a knighthood as well. We will soon know if it works when the next benefit cheat goes to court.
Can’t wait.
So if I was to break into her home and steal 60 thousand pounds worth of her property, but then just say sorry, I would be able to keep the stash?
Because she has done worse. She has defrauded the tax payer out of much more than that.
This will not go away and if the troughing pigs think otherwise, they will have a stern reminder administered to them at the next election. The fact of the matter is that they are thieves and should be treated as such – in any other theatre such wanton fiddling would result in immediate dismissal and possible prosecution. It sickens me to listen to their pompous outrage and self-righteous protestations of innocence. Just who do these mediocre losers think they are that they should be entitled to help themselves to our money (YES – OUR MONEY!) They should pay up and in some cases be prosecuted and that includes the hideous and obese Jackie Smith, who helped herself to over £100,000 – how can her “apology” be adequate ? If these porcine troughers feel “outraged” at being caught, they need to understand that we feel a thousand times as outraged and we WILL have justice. Hopefully the press will not let this rest until that justice is done.
Nice idea; pity it won’t happen. In the long run, Joe Public loses interest in important stuff as soon as Jordan gets her tits out again.
Jordan’s tits are made of rubber and she can keep them as far as I am concerned. What I want to see is all the offending troughers brought to book for their theft of public money. If the public keep up the pressure for long enough, this will have to happen, so sod Jordan’s tits and let’s see some pork roasting!
Jordan’s tits are vile pieces of silicone and are grotesque – a fitting description of the female gendered person herself.
If the lamestream media will not cover this then I suggest that WE keep it in the public domain.
Perhaps we should contribute to some online effort, keep the blogs and twitters FULL of this during every single day of the election campaign. We should all contribute money to a single political group that can place adverts in the dead tree press or, better still, advertising hoardings the length and breadth of the country, to remind ALL voters to do the right thing and KICK THEM OUT!
Any ideas?
There is a very easy alternative open to corrupt MPs which I hope they will consider.
This is to pass a law make the regime under which they want to exist open to all members of the public. All they need to is to permit personal expense claims by ordinary members of the public to the same levels and with the same levels of disclosure as they wish to have themselves.
I am extremely angry that MPs can make tax free claims for food, household goods, television subscriptions, etc., without receipts, but I would be entirely happy if I could do so myself.
There will be no problem backdating it five or even ten years – I would accept the principle of retrospective claims.
Similarly they should issue revised guidelines to the Inland Revenue so that their excessive tax evasion should not be investigated, and nor should that by the general public either.
Simples.
Spot on.
I think access to subsided and tax free alcohol for all taxpayers should be included in the deal, maybe subsidised restaurants and how about some smoking bars too. After all the equity principle we are talking about here is good for them it must be good for us.
Most folk would need to earn about £700+ before deductions and tax to buy £400 worth of food.
Great post! Spot on!
You are too kind
Spot on he’s not ‘too kind’ he’s ‘mike Law’
That first non entity of an MP said, “Just say no”. Good advice for everyone in these times. Say no to everything THEY do.
He might have a few hundred thieving sh*ts against him, but Legg has the entire thninking blogosphere on his. For more advice on such matters consult m’learned friends carter-ruck.
aren’t mps bound by a code which says they are not allowed to do ANYTHING that brings the house into dishonour??????????????
in my previous business i had expenses.ie. a lunch or drinks were acceptable-
moats,tree felling,kitchens are beyond a joke……..
add to that the mortgage scams-DELIBERATE EVASIONS!!!!!!!!
THIS IS FRAUD!!!!!!!!
ALL should be prosecuted – monies paid back and prison sentences meted out!
no excuses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You Got Lunch!
My husband’s employer stopped that years ago, said that he normally had to eat lunch, so could not claim it on expenses.
Legg would be well advised not to whistleblow to the press, appear before select committees or walk in the woods.
aren’t mps bound by a code which says they are not allowed to do ANYTHING that brings the house into dishonour??????????????
in my previous business i had expenses.ie. a lunch or drinks were acceptable-
moats,tree felling,kitchens are beyond a joke……..
add to that the mortgage scams-DELIBERATE EVASIONS!!!!!!!!
THIS IS FRAUD!!!!!!!!
ALL should be prosecuted – monies paid back and prison sentences meted out!
no excuses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply
sort out your modding fawkes!!!!!!
arent you supposed to believe in free speech?
it stops things for no reason as far as i can tell.
He does, he also belives in the rights of private property ie his blog, he does whatever the hell he wants to
I suggest you read
http://order-order.com/2004/01/09/about-guidos-blog/
Radio 4 were talking about Sir Thomas Legg yesterday. They said he is an ex Royal Marine who stands no nonsense and will not be intimidated by the corrupt MP’s. He sounds like the sort of person who will stick to his guns. Good luck to him.
He’ll need all the luck he can get, especially if he feels like a walk in the country…
If he’s not gonna make it through all this un-besmirched and with his reputation intact, I’m a Dutchman.
Remember what happened to John Stalker when he didn’t produce the findings he was exported to find in his enquiry in Northern Ireland? Smears…
Another reason for Labour to hate him.
I wonder whether they’ll try to dock his service pension. Go Sir Thomas! The country’s with you!
They really do not get it. We trust MP’s (or we would like to) to use their judgement to know when something is legally and/or morally wrong, and then fix it.
In the case of MP expenses, their judgement (and morals) had gone a.w.o.l. (surely no connection to the fact it concerned them financially!!).
They still don’t get that its about judgement (and morals), NOT about what was in the rules.
But it is in the rules – ‘wholly, exclusively and necessarily’ for the purposes/performance of carrying out their duties as MP’s. Legg has come up with monetary values only to set a objective benchmark for what reasonably meets that requirement. Monetary values also allow the staff working through the mass of paperwork to calculate the re-claims without getting immersed in subjective judgements on every claim. That would add another couple of million in time costs to the public debt.
How can Bell be allowed to peddle these lies to the studios about new rules????
He better not go for a walk in the county…
Legg has messed this up badly. His first act this week should have been a public explanation of his approach, and in particular his retroactive imposition of new expenses limits. Shunning the media yesterday looked evasive and conveyed a message that we – who fund those expenses and his costs – have no right to know what is going on. Not good.
Agreed.
Plus there seem to be some silly errors and/or omissions in the letters. It will all be used against him.
You’re wrong. He should have strung up a few MPs first, like we did in the best days of our Empire, to set an example. After that, they would be queuing up to repay in a quiet and orderly fashion.
Legg’s error (and it is a big error!) is not to have gone for the mortgage capers & flipping of properties. This is where the real fraud is lurking. Also one has to mention Teflon Tony who shredded his expense forms before leaving office & missed out on all the fun. As ever timing & deviousness are everything!
To be fair, Blair didn’t shred his records. The house authorities did that, I think for all ex-M.P.’s.
Well Bair is hardly likely to stand in front of shredder feeding the paperwork is he? And you think he wasn’t consulted about this? No, this would have been done with his full knowledge and understanding – after all, which public servant would have the temerity (OK, I’d accept stupidity) to do otherwise?
that’s right,and Hitler never fired a shot in WW2 either but he sure murdered millions.
Wrong!!
He did fire a shot – through his own head!!
Simples!
That is exactly where the Real Fraud is Lurking.
O/t slightly, I have just written to Nick Clegg about 2 of his unrelated MP’s allegedly claiming 50% of an invoice each for an advert in a community leaflet. Unfortunately despite requests and FOI applications neither of the MP’s nor the company printing the advert want to release the original document which will prove that the claim was honest. I suspect there may have been a double claim on the same invoice. They admit to an agreement. The only question is was the amount claimed accord with the actual cost? I think the public should know.
To my mind despite the relatively low cost of the claim a joint enterprise accords with Mr Clegg’s reported view as being a “worst offence.”
Can anyone recall ANY 2 unrelated MP’s putting in a joint claim on the same invoice at the same time for exactly the same amount?
If you hear of 2 Lib Dem MP’s referring themselves or being referred to the Standards Committee… you heard it first here.
Perhaps those with some influence can jack up the enquiries?
From the DT
Ann Widdecombe, the former Tory minister, also hit out at the way Sir Thomas had been allowed to change the rules retrospectively. She said: “If any other employer did this, he would be up before a tribunal.”
As anyone who has worked in a normal job and has submitted expenses would know, this situation would never have arisen in the first place. Normal employers take a dim view of employees exaggerating and falsifying expenses claims – “taking the piss” as it is known in the accounts dept. – to the extent that if you try it on only once, you are more likely to receive a P45 than a nice cheque at the end of the month.
I guess she’s another who has never had a proper job in her life.
Perhaps having held down a job or jobs for at least 10 years might be one of the pre-qualifications to being selected to run for election. At least they would then know how to fiddle their exes properly.
In normal life many of these claimants would have been arrested and charged with deception.
The line that they are changing the rules retrospectively is spin.
All claims had to fulfill the over-riding requriement to be genuine and incurred in the fulfilment of their duties as an MP.
The fact they wrote and applied the rules in such a way as to allow or encourage fraud does not make it OK.
Surely an MP should understand that you cannont pass a law that breaches a law of higher status?
And, of course, if any other employee had done what these people have done they would have been sacked on the spot. Her analogy is telling….
Name and shame Legg.
Then report them to HMRC for tax due on benefits in kind.
MPs survive through their deviousness and ability to crush opposition. Oh yea? Not any more. They are perecived as the pits now. The laughing stock. They are ineffectual, impressionable, shallow, weak, duplitious, greedy thieving spongers.
Clearly there are somme good ones but that is how the public view them all.
Cameron, start firing now. Plenty of replacements. This is your one real chance.
Spot on, but I doubt Cameron really has the balls…
No evidence to contradict you at all I’m afraid
No, Brown has the Balls. I’d rather wish he didn’t as both of them make me want to throw up on sight.
“You can name and shame miscreants. ”
Yay !! Shine that disinfectant on the recalcitrant wankers !!
I notice rent-a-gob Bell has been attempting to form the narrative that the system has now been cleared up and we should put this all behind us (well he would wouldnt he?!)
Could one of the co-conspiritors please point me in the direction to the website that displays all MP’s expenses claimed from now on that are unredacted and availible to the public?
Many thanks.
O/T
Guido please look into the bill proposed by
Cont:
Douglas Carswell yesterday reference the right to recall wayward MP’s by their constituents and the mechanism of open primaries.
For all the other worthy stories you cover I personally feel that this bill could fundamentally shift the balance of power back toward the electorate.And as such Carswell deserves a bit of support for trying to do something for the proles.
I get the feeling that he will need all the help he can get.
Did anyone see that Geordie chump on Newsnight last night bleating that retrospective legislation was unfair?
When it was pointed out that he wanted the same for bankers he spouted that it was never meant to be followed through!
And presumably he supprted the restrospective windfall taxes for utiliity companies.
I also thought that Tampaxman was unbelievably soft on the issue last night.
As always, just like that well known Rottweiller John Humphreys
There is a reason for their gentle approach …
Humphreys reminds me of a deadly disease that actually turns out to be a flase alarm – over rated and overblown.
Give me Sian Williams at BBC B’fast time any time yuo want a tough interviewer – she know’s her facts and does not give them a soft ride.
YESSSSSSSSSSSS retrospective and unfair…………….FFS
NU Liebour Broadcasting Corporation at its worst!!!
What part of – All the money was paid for goods or services actually received. – The goods are services were required entirely and exclusively in the discharge of their duties as MP. – The money should cover only additional costs incurred as a result of being an MP.
Did they NOT UNDERSTAND!!!!
HARDLY a RETROSPECTIVE RULE CHANGE
When you apply these principles to the claims you can set reasonable limits on how much you should be able to claim for domestic cleaners, food, etc.
WHY did he have to do that make retrospective rules/impose limits?
BECAUSE THE WEE PIGGIES had put NO LIMITS on the amount they could claim for these absolutely needed for the performance of their duties as an MP – SERVICES……………..AYE RIGHT!!!!!
Contrast this TRULY INDEPENDENT Review using real world morals and principles – with the whitewash job done by dishonourable members when they looked into Jacqui Smith inadvertent mistake!!!!
Soon she will be in the HoL with Lord Mick of Springburn (bet that will go down well NOT at the forthcoming by-election i can see Lots of pictures of ermined Mick being used and NOT by NE Liebour) YES being an EX Home sec means you get an automatic free pass into the HoL Bet you she will stand down before she gets wiped out at the next G.E.
Well said my man, this is simply an example of the Rules not being changed retrospective but APPLIED.
And the retrospective ‘gaz-guzzler’ tax on folks who’d bought big cars as far back as 2001. Because it’s the right thing to do.
Would folk have bought a big 4×4 back in 2002 if they knew that in 2008 they would be taxed extra compared to somebody who bought one in (say) 2000?
Maybe. Maybe not. But the point is that they are being retrospectively penalised so, you know, the government can fuck off about bleating about retrospective rules.
“Etherington: “We were told we were going to be judged on what the claim was under the regulations at the time. Now, Sir Thomas Legg has decided to change that retrospectively. Retrospective legislation has a very poor record and has caused us a lot of trouble. That denudes the whole process of its legitimacy.
Grossman: “You yourself have signed Commons EDMs calling for retrospective taxes on City bonuses..”
Etherington: “I don’t think I have actually. Can you be sure of this?
Grossman: “Yes, we checked before we came out..”
Etherington: “Retrospective taxes?”
Grossman: “On City bonuses and on Centrica profits and on energy company profits..”
Etherington: “Yes, but that was me putting pressure on the Government. You know what Early Day Motions are about. None of them are ever acted upon. They are declarations of intent.””
Is this a missing script from Yes, Minister?
PB posters are looking for a youtube link – have read that the look on Ethrington’s face is jaw dropping when the grenade goes off…
Next question: Are you in the early stages of senile dementia, Mr Etherington?
Full list of EDM on retrospective legistlation for Bankers.
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=38573&SESSION=899
How many of them have ‘interesting’ letters from Sir Thomas Legg? How many of them are ‘retiring’ soon?
John McDonnell, Michael Clapham, Anthony D Wright, Colin Challen,
Neil Gerrard, Harry Cohen, Lindsay Hoyle, Alan Meale, Martin Caton,
Ann Cryer, John Cummings, Jim Dobbin, Mike Hancock, David Taylor,
Robert N Wareing, Ken Purchase, Alan Simpson, David Simpson,
Stephen Hepburn, Brian Jenkins, Ronnie Campbell, David Drew,
Rudi Vis, Angus MacNeil, Kelvin Hopkins, Janet Dean, Paul Flynn,
Dai Davies, Chris McCafferty, George Galloway, Linda Riordan,
Virendra Kumar Shama. Jeremy Corbyn, Jim Devine, Katy Clark,
Eric Illsley, Bill Etherington, Adam Price.
“And the retrospective ‘gaz-guzzler’ tax on folks who’d bought big cars as far back as 2001. Because it’s the right thing to do”
JGM nail on head !! and that is what the voters understand. Everytime they bleat just hit them with that one liner and they are blown out of the proverbial water. No defence whatsoever.
Well done JGM for picking up on that that absolute hypocritical beauty!!!
I wonder what possessed the good people of Middlesbrough to elect that arsehole Bell, who clearly hasn’t had an original thought in his entire life.
It may have something to do with the place being taken out of the North Riding of Yorkshire some years ago and put into a new ‘invented’ county where the rates then went through the roof…
I think that has a lot to do with it. 10 minutes drive south of Middlesbrough you are into some of the loveliest looking countryside in England. Anyone who has any money at all moves out into one of the surrounding villages taking their true blue vote with them.
Nobody moves north of course because then you are in mackem territory.
He wears a red rosette. A monkey with a red rosette would win in Middlesborough
Have you ever been to Middlesbrough? It makes Tower Hamlets look like Beverley Hills.
It’s not that bad cockhead
It makes Motherwell look like Alderley Edge.
You can smell a makem even over the internet
It is pretty bad though. Phil’O is right. M’bro itself has been ring fenced as a labour stronghold. 10 minutes in any direction gives some of the best coastline, countryside, market towns, moorland etc. in the UK. We get the usual grand standing gestures of development (MIMA?); but Bell exploits the obvious demographic of the town: Labour. Redcar (Vera Baird) ditto.
You can bet your shirt on the fact that those M P’s squealing the most do not have a cat in hells chance of surviving at the next general election for one reason or another.
Only a few are squealing but as normal the rest are hiding and hoping behind those foolish enough to raise their grunts loudest.
Still feeling warm and fuzzy inside.
I have a horrible feeling this is not going to end well.
It’s clear Legg made mistakes. These will come back to haunt him and will, sadly, possibly bring about the whitewash that he did not want.
Has Legg stuffed it up? Troughers will use his genuine errors to defend their fraudulent claims, Families of dead soldiers present united front against Blair, Carter-Rucked, story crosses Atlantic Alan Johnson blames police plus more Elfin Safety nonsense
No excuse for silly mistakes. It will probably backfire, unfortunately.
Well i dont think he did this all on his own do you?
MAYBE they were using moonlighting soldiers to compose and send out the letters
WHY has that horrendous situation just disappeared off the Radar – soldiers moonlighting to buy themselves decent kit to go to war with!!!!!!
Much as I believe that soldiers are using their own cash to buy suitable kit I think to suggest they have to take on second jobs to afford a 100 quid pair of boots or whatever is a bit disingenuous.
I mean they are getting paid 18K or whatever as it is. They can probably afford a 100 quid pair of boots. Whether they should have to pay their own money is another matter (obviously not – the kit they have supplied should be fit for purpose and then some) but the suggestion that they need to get a job in their spare time just to afford suitable kit is pure baloney.
Perhaps our MPs could buy them a few pairs?
But… WHY should they have to spend their modest pay on boots? And some professional military boots on sale cost over £200.
And whilst it is true Legg didn’t do it all on his own, he signed it off.
I mean, what kind of an idiot would ask someone to confirm their expenses claim from a period BEFORE they commenced their job? No employer I have ever worked for would have been that stupid.
Afghanistan’s not Hampshire… just rock and dust and in the winter snow and ice… those boots would have to be the best quality money could buy to survive a 6 month tour of duty.
I heard an MP on R4 this morning. Complaining that the townsfolk are taking the piss out of his family. I wonder if he feels perfectly safe.
( Perhaps he does because the Conservative he won his seat off has the EU after him for £500,000 )
Well he could claim for a flak jacket and stab proof vests for his family and round the clock police guards while the undefended pensioners and single mothers get abused by the feral scum roaming these horrible streets unstopped by Brown and his thugs.
“unstopped by Brown and his thugs”?
Should read
“actively encouraged by the ‘yuman rites’ brigade and subsidised at our expense by Brown and his thugs.
Too true! And don’t forget the Elfin Safety!
Whilst I want them to pay the money back, I’m really not so bothered about the ones that have spent a £1,000 on a flat screen TV.
The ones I want sorted are the ones that have benefitted from £10,000s of pounds by property deals, like Jacqui Smith, like the Cooper-Balls claiming each has a different first home and the Lords, like Scotland and Udders.
Looks like our smokescreen hasn’t worked on the likes of you Road Hog, damn it.
“The Cooper-Balls claiming machine”
Here! here!
We have a useless website with no blog so we are here again to regurgitate our hopeless ideologies on you
I disagree.
They gave Legg a live grenade to diffuse and he pulled the pin and tossed it back. Keeping his head down and watching them run around attacking each other in a cannibalistic orgy, before they explode, is the best thing to do. Don’t give the fuckers a chance to throw it back. These pigs with their Media Spin Machine will try to eat Legg alive given half the chance.
It’s about time our Head of State starts earning her keep and steps in to sorts these cunst out once and for all.
Even The Times agrees with that sentiment in its Leader today – dissolve Parliament and call an election now!
I know HM never stoops to party politics BUT on this one occasion when the issue crosses ALL parties and into the Lords that she has a duty to make her opinions known and that she has advised her Prime Minister to call a General Election…….. its the right thing to do.
“It’s the Sun what done it” and all printed media are yesterdays news.
Its the blogs what’s doing it now. Print is a spent force.
where the standard of discourse is even lower than the tabloid press. HOOnS string ”’em up!!!1
There is a lot of chutney in the pan and a big spoon stiring it up
I wonder if making chutney in large batches improves the taste?
I have just the book for you. £9.99 in Smiths
Spot on Guido! Legg needs to stand up to our self serving MPs – he also needs to urgently audit Porky Smith, McNulty, Blears and other serial flippers, mortgage cheats and capital gains tax avoiders.
Porky Smith should come first – her notorious example is making us all steam at the ears!
Is flipping within the rules now? I’ve lost touch.
Depends on whether it was enforced or not. Some flippers have claimed they were told to change their main residence designation – guess it should be easy to prove if that were the case. As for Smith – don’t know why some don’t get it – Sir George Young was on Newsnight last night saying “there are mitigating circumstances” – I would really love to know what they might be. It is clear that Smith was taking the proverbial by:
1. Not using her Grace and Favour home
2. Taking the piss by declaring her sister’s bedsit was her primary residence.
3. Snouting in the trough for antique fireplaces, renovation, white goods, multi-media systems, bath plugs, kitchen sinks and all the rest.
The case is clear M’lud – Porky Smith is a venal swine!
George Young was quoting his committee (he’s the chairman) but he was not there when the decision was taken. More stitch ups by ‘gentlemen’ sorting it out among themselves.
Mitigating circumstances are not a defence, They are put forward after someone is found Guilty in an attempt to temper the punishment. ie at the time my client commited this offence he was suffering from depression, had just lost his job etc etc So Sir George is saying she is guilty.
Unfortunately Sir George is not a lawyer and I think he has mis-spoken.
The details of Ms Smiths discussions about her personal circumstances and the reasons for her claims are on the public record. They do not bear much close scrutiny.
It will not be possible.
“Ooh, dear. The person who gave you that advice no longer works here, is on long-term sick leave with stress or is dead, so we can’t help you. But please do realise it was not the fault of Mr Brown or Speaker Martin, OK?”
Throw her to her constituency M*slims for ritual Sh*ria slaughter
Actually he was supposed to highlight some TORY MPS only, not the hundreds of thieving Liebour scum.
That’s why the leftist media are so upset.
Guido
I agree with your comments entirely.
Indeed would add that firstly, if they don’t pay they should be charged with theft and handed over to the police. Secondly, that Parliament means nothing now, it has absolutely no credibitilty. Arrangement should be made to dissolve it and call an election. It is in disarray. How can they think they can continue in situ when all around them the walls are falling down? And what is the Queen doing watching this pantomime? Isn’t she interested in what’s going on????? This so called parliamentary democracy is a dead duck.
The Queen is trying to check up on the Constitution. Hope she finds it.
The last time the monarch tried to interfere in the dealings of Parliament he was beheaded in Whitehall.
Instead of whingeing about what other people should be doing, do something yourself. Old Holborn is having a mar… a stroll in the sun …. on Nov 5. Join him.
The Monarch is there to advise her Prime Minister. Surely in unprecedented times HM could make her advice known to her subjects? After all it is a National Disgrace when institutional corruption is so widespread. It would only take one speech OF HER OPINION, at the opening of parliament, to humble and disgrace the PM into a General Election.
When the entire nation, apart from a number of freeloaders, has demanded a general election and this has failed to move Brown one iota, I think this indicates a singular lack of conscience so somehow I doubt that Brenda’s advice would be heeded.
The people would be with her, the army would be with her…
DISSOLVE PARLIAMENT M’AM!
Pity they’re all in A-stan – TA reserves to storm Parliament?
The Queens Speech will be on Wednesday the 18th November.
Meanwhile, as MPs worry about themselves, unemployment keeps going up.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1220302/Huge-queue-desperate-job-seekers-unemployment-hits-2-47m.html
What do we pay them for ?
We pay them to keep that figure below the headline generating ‘Unemployment soars over 2.5 million’. A lot of effort will have gone into keeping that last 30,000 people off the figures. Students will be expected to do unpaid ‘internships’. This years graduate cohort of a million or so will have their eligibility to claim unemployment benefit pushed out until March of next year to achieve that sub 2.5 million figure.
Because it’s the right thing to do.
Try this then.
In the course of work I speak with Insolvency Practitioners quite a lot.
At the beginning of the year they flagged up they were less busy than expected because HMRC had allowed company to defer VAT payments and corporation tax to help with cash flow. Quite right.
The figure I was quoted early in the year was £ 10 billion deferred. The last conversation I had a week ago was quoting a number heading for £ 30 billion.
Which sounds credible looking at the state or Govt. revenues.
Mow HMRC are supposed to be seeking to cllect the back payments, but no-one quite knows what will happen as if they are aggressive companies will fall. The best guess was that they will hold back until the elction and let the new Govt have a problem which will push unemployment to 4 million in short order.
Nice.
That is interesting – but surely if the election is deferred until June next year, then HMRC will be forced to act before the end of the financial year.
We need a question (and answer!) in the House !! NOW !
Isn’t there a “reasonable man” test within law? It not my field, but I do remember an argument along the lines of you go into a shop to buy a Mars bar and the sticker says 1p. You pay it, the clueless assistant takes the money and you’re happy. Not. You’ve just broken law – the “reasonable man” test says you should know it was worth more, even though the shop offered it at a silly price. You may think you were acting within the rules at the time, but common sense, as per these MP’s case, says otherwise.
But remember the case in 1969, when a garage sold a Ford Cortina Mark 2 (I think?) for 6d as a gimmick?
They only had one enquiry, and they phoned up to see if it was a printing error?
WTF – Jo Brand saya you can’t be racist towards white people ???!!!
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/edwest/100013521/jo-brand-you-cant-be-racist-towards-white-people/
ever heard of Zimbabwe luv?
The fat old slag hasn’t yet cottoned on that the Ben Elton style of “comedy” is passe.
She’s above all that nowadays… she’s aiming for ‘National Treasure’ status similar to that enjoyed by Ian Hislop or on a more banal level Terry Wogan or Bruce Forsythe.
Doesn’t realize you have to be more than a token fat person with a garnish of bitchery. Sorry love, go back to plaiting your armpits.
No, but you can be rude to fat people.
It is simple, Jaqui Smith must go now.
…and skip off into the dusk hand in hand with fatso Scotland.
Jacqui’s going nowhere. her ‘job’ as MP supplies the Smith household with two incomes and when she gets her P45 in June (or whenever) next year she is completely fucked. No lucrative outside consultancies, the quangoes all being decimated or, at the very least, their Labour apparatchik management being replaced by Tory apparatchiks.
The best she can hope for is to sign up with an agency as a supply teacher.
I see embarrassing videos made by Polish hotel staff in her future.
Too fucking good for her. This is the woman who stood by and allowed an opposition MPs office to be raided on spurious ‘national security’ grounds. We should be grateful I suppose that she was so stupid she inadvertently revealed the true depth of idiocy and evil at the heart of this Labour occupation.
I doubt it. She will be Lady Smith. And the only question is who wil be relieving Lady Smith.
In that case I look forward to the headline when she gets caught having a fling with Trevor Philips.
Lady Smith Black Man Does Her.
Lardysmith of B*t*plug.
The siege of Ladysmith should not be relieved – Jackboots deserves nothing less than rancid supplies and starvation to hound her out of office, house, home, title, husband and Hattie Harpic’s support.
(…as the Boers might have attested if Field Marshal Lord Roberts had let them ….!)
As an ex Home Secreaty she will be “elevated” to the Lords.
labour “oocupation”? Surely “infestation”.
If you want a giggle, have a read of the following document:
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-05123.pdf#3
It’s a parliamentary paper published a while ago that sets out the terms of reference for the Legg work and the background to it. To whet your appetite, here’s a fabulous extract from page 7:
During the report stage of the Parliamentary Standards Bill, Sir Stuart Bell… confirmed that Sir Thomas Legg’s work was underway… “Sir Thomas Legg is the distinguished Chairman of the review body; his independence is absolute and sacrosanct, and must be seen to be so by the public”
Clearly Sir Stuart meant to say: “his independence is absolute and sacrosanct, so long as he doesn’t exercise that independence in any form whatsoever”
Hey Rexel thanks for this.
Just sent this to Sir Stuart
“Sir
Please see your own statement on this disgraceful stain on our democracy.
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-05123.pdf#3
Your utterances on retrospective changes to the rules is disingenuous. MP’s have over the years given scant regard to retrospective taxation. Examples, windfall tax on energy companies, Child Support Agency clawing back of monies, gas guzzlers, the raid on pensions and the list goes on and on.
To say you were within the rules is pathetic, as you well know. Stop defending criminals. Your motives for doing so are questionable. Are you after getting into the Lords?”
We must keep countering the retrospective meme which has taken hold.
There was always the rule which said wholly,exclusively and necessarily incurred for the purposes of carrying out their duties as an MP. All he is doing is applying a rule which already existed.
Pay up pigs.
Re Retrospection
Did you see the Liebore MP on TV? Ellington I think.
He said that he’s against retrospective legislation
The interviewer said the MP had voted for retrospective legistaion for Banks, for Energy companies etc in Early Day Motions
Did I ? Yes – but that’s only an indication / expression of direction
Feck off Twat
The IQ of a SCUM BAG
The reason that MPs’ behave the way they do is obvious when you think about it, they are not afraid of anything, there is no danger of a military coup, there are no armed groups likely to mount one either and in any case things might be worse if that were to happen, they have no fear of prosecution as they have the police under their thumb, any demonstrations end with kettling and killing, all criticism is shrugged off, vote one lot out and we end up with more of the same, just another bunch of self serving Hunts.
So what is there to do? We desperately need a change of government that’s for sure but even then it will be business as usual. Nothing has been done so far to change the way politicians behave, they have no fear, that is the key. The only thing I can think of is if one or two of the worst offenders were assassinated that may have the desired affect, that might put a bit of fear into them. And if you think that is harsh just remember that these people are not worthy of any sympathy, they will shit on any or all of us, lie, cheat and steal, they are treacherous, traitorous evil bastards.
The alternative is to be crapped upon for all time, it is time to make a stand.
“ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS THAT GOOD MEN DO NOTHING.” (Edmund Burke)
Islam is beyond reproach here they have bombs and guns he he
When you have ‘em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.
Most of de electorate are good people but dey are a bit simple and really don’t understand how rotten dese conts are.
“Only a few months ago MPs from all sides…were blaming their misdemeanors on “the system”.”
Harriet Harman was on Today saying precisely that, not a few months ago but this very morning.
She kept using the passive, as if MPs actions had been beyond reproach. They were merely the innocent victims of a flawed ‘system’. Poor little darlings.
Well, Nov 5 isn’t far off. Better luck this time, Guido.
Amen
Can I direct the my learned friend to my reply at #162
What is fraud?
Fraud is a type of criminal activity, defined as ‘intentional deception to obtain an advantage, avoid an obligation or cause loss to another person or company.’
from the sfo website.
mortgage scams undertaken by mps are all FRAUD!!!!
YOU CAN REPORT THEM ON THE WEB SITE.
Claims for mortgages which dont exist is clearly Fraud irrespective that someone in the Fees office allowed this practice. If they had to lie to get something then that is Fraud. If someone in the Fees office advised or allowed this practivce then They to are guilty and should face proceedings. Conspiracy to defraud the public purse is a relevant charge in such cases.
If anyone out there will stand against that slimy guy Ed Balls, I promise I will give cash towards the fighting fund. He and his wife have become filthy rich by being in politics,even charging us exhorbitant amounts for food.I know pensioners who go to the market to delve around the speckie fruit and veg when the market is packing up because they cannot make ends meet.Ed Balls and his like are your so called “socialists”who care so much for the poor and weak. They make me puke.
But They are good Labour folk all for the working man innit
Ok – I am unemployed – 47 yrs old – man of the world – claimed every expense honestly.
No skeleton’s in in the cupboard – I am ready to take up your offer – what happens next?
Stand as an independent member of the Single Home Party and Norfolknell will pay your deposit?
Thank you. When we know that date of the election and you fit the criteria of being the honest and decent bloke you say you are,I will organise support and cash from friends and fellow bloggers to get the “balls’” rolling.
This blog site has taught me one thing –
SOCIALIST BAST*RDS = FASCIST BAST*RDS
Thanks
You won’t learn that in the Groves of Academe.
I feel £64k is peanuts for an MP, and what do you get when you pay peanusts people?
Fraudulent cheating lying thieving SOB’s?????
No, you are wrong.
Ken Livingston (as mayor) – £140k.
Gordon Brown – £180k.
Numerous BBC managers – £120k+.
I could go on, but you see the point. A higher salary does not mean you get the best people.
If anyone’s going into politics to get rich, then they should get it.
Do you really think if, say, the MPs salary was doubled we’d get a better type of politician?
You’d get a worse type of applicant it that were possible.
FUCK OFF!
What do you get if you give a monkey a keyboard, posts like yours.
Don’t believe the headlines, Jim, 64k is more than most professionals with real responsibilities get. What’s more, engineers, junior doctors and so on have to buy their own groceries, pay for their own homes and get themselves to and from work on their salaries. Their pensions aren’t golden either and there’s little or no silk lined safety net for when they lose their jobs.
MPs, who need zero qualifications and have no responsibilities beyond doing whatever the party bosses say, get 64k PLUS endless opportunity to cash in PLUS a pension msot people can only dream about PLUS a golden goodbye that would set many people up for life. All that for a job that only takes up maybe 9 months of the year in an office amply supplied with subsidised bars and resteraunts.
Don’t try and tell us our MPs are bad because they are underpaid.
You get c nuts like you writing crap like this.
64K – peanuts. Wrong.
Politics is meant to be about public service and a reforming conviction.
Are our armed forces a bunch of ‘monkeys’? they earn a pittance…clergy…charity workers…in fact people from all walks of life who choose, through a sense of honour and belief, to perhaps earn less in order to fulfil some deeper sense of purpose.
You’re spouting Bercow’s argument – more like him? No thanks.
That’s £1230 a week. I think I could cope with that as my salary.
Yeah, and then there’s all the perks – the endless recess. FFS they should try the real world.
I never really bought into Guido’s assertion that MP’s as a body are a self serving, venal shower of shyte.
My feeling was that the Tories had some vile wretches (now purged), ie Hamilton and Aitken, but that the PLP was/is comprised of liars, halfwits, proles and drones.
The ridiculous hectoring buffoons George Faulkes, Stephen Pound, & Yvette Cooper are perfect examples of this worthless crop of Labourite scum.
However one has to consider whether Guido is correct, and that the body of Westminster MP’s are indeed thieving, lying, hypocritical, worthless parasites.
If true what’s the answer?
I am very much attracted to the tenets of Wahhabism, and would willingly revert to Islam if I could be a Mullah dispending justice Wahhabi style to the vermin who are destroying this nation.
Naturally the beheadings would start at the BBC, but me wrath would be widespread.
And I am unanimous in that
your wish will soon be granted, whether you like it or not old boy.
You can be sure that, wherever there is totalitarian government, there is deep and widespread corruption.
From the Telegraph:
One Labour backbencher said: “I have never known such venom in the tea-room. No one has a good word to say about the stupid so-and-so [Mr Brown] for starting this whole thing.”
Its all about them.
Brown started it ‘cos he figured he’d be able to steer the entire spotlight onto Tory duck-houses and away from Labour mock-tudor beams. And, to be fair to the BBC they’re doing a jolly good job of getting Tory rent-a-gobs in the studio and using the ‘duck-pond’ soundbite as regularly as possible.
It’s just that Jacqui is rather fouling things up by staying in the spotlight too thus reminding voters that it is this Labour governmnet who are the real crooks.
I believe our leader Brown changed the ownership of his house to that of his wife so that he could be a beneficary all all the perks available via the poor old tax payer.
It could also be, like the Lloyds ‘names’ of old who had all their property in their wive’s names, that when we finally go after Brown for the 800bn quid he owes us he’ll claim he is penniless.
It just may be all about Brown and not ‘them’. Brown stands smuggly announcing he is paying back £12,000. ” You see, this place may be corrupt but I stand before you as the only honest man here. So vote for me “. That sort of stuff.
I am surprised that the media has not made more of the fact that on the day that a vital press freedom, to report on Parliament proceedings, is under attack all the MPs were willing talk about was their gardening bills! I assume that the wider public, who pay their gardeners, has not missed this dereliction of duty. It only seems to reinforce the perception that MPs are only there for themselves; “who cares about basic freedoms, I have to pay back £50, it’s the principle you see”.
Spot on Guido, Im am sick and tired of MP’s arguing the fiction that “The Rules” are being changed retrospectively. This is a big fat lie. They are NOT being changed they are being APPLIED retrospectively perhaps in many cases for the first time. The rules have always been clear , MP’s IGNORED them and claimed for things which the Rules NEVER authorised. Just because the dimwitted collaborators in the Fees office historically turned a blind eye to this abuse didnt make it right then and certainly doesnt make it right now. Do not accept their excuses they are lying.
But I’ve been getting away with murder for years, you can’t charge me with homicide now, it’s not fair.
I should also add that Im with other posters on this blog in that much as I beleive that mp’s should pay back for their cameras and invisible cleaners, this report is not saying much about the Really big fraud involving mortgages and flipping. Funny that.
Spot on.
Why aren’t HMRC stomping all over them?
Do your employer’s auditors stomp all over members of the company board?
Filkin’s error was not in saying too little to the media: it was in saying too much. Her office was leaky as a sieve, and her attempts to pressurise the subjects of her investigations by media leaks backfired spectacularly.
This whole fiasco is a direct result of the leaders of the three major parties being too lily livered to propose market rates for MPs’ salaries. Instead they introduced the ‘nudge nudge wink wink” expense claim process.
What does this tell you about them?
1) They have a very low opinion of their own self worth and benefit to society because they are too weak to argue the case for pay. Difficult to argue with this point of view given the general standard of politician in The House.
2) They are completely dishonest.
Legg focusing on gardeners misses the big money stuff entirely – flipping properties and nominating bedrooms as principle residencies.
In my view, all the noise being generated by the MP’s is a smokescreen to keep us focused on the little stuff, so that we don’t ask the big questions regarding property.
Fat chance – let’s turn the screw.
Nonsense, this is one of the most oversubscribed jobs in the country, if you want to apply the market, then that would indicate that £64k is far more than the market rate.
The expenses scandal is a result of MP’s being dishonest, nothing more, nothing less.
The dreadful quality of politicians is not the lack of a good salary, it is the party system of blind obedience to the whips, patronage and dynasty (Erith bi election). Why does such a toxic little creep like Mandelson weald such power – dynasty.
Pay what you like, the quality will remain the same, merit has nothing to do with getting into parliament. If it did, how would someone so incompetent and dishonest as Gorbals Mick ever gert into the House of Lords.
I think we can all predict how PMQ’s goes at midday today and the appalling spectacle of 648 MP’s and a rotten PM who is so past his sell-by date that he stinks to high heaven.
Surely the country cannot put up with another 6.5 months more of this before an election?
With Brown’s dreadful ability to create chaos every day,we shall as a nation cease top exist by next May?
We tend to bounce back after disasters, but are poor at avoiding them.
So far two Labour MPs who signed EDMs calling for retrospective taxes on city bonuses and now claiming retrospective justice is unfair on MPs
Bill Etherington on Newsnight last night, 4 mins 45 secs in
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ndt7t/Newsnight_13_10_2009/
and now Alan Simpson
http://tinyurl.com/ylemzhb
EDM is here
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=38573&SESSION=899
One of the bastards (a socialist) is even threatening to go to court over this.
What about that famous Court of Public Opinion where you and your socialist chums wanted to try Fred Goodwin, Alan Simpson?
The lefties wanted this previously unheard of court to try someone over a private matter between himself and his employers. Suddenly the previously inadequate courts of justice are just fine when it comes to a dispute between MPs and their employers (the tax paying public).
Oh the irony!
That would be true, were it not for the fact that his incompetence had to be bailed out by the tax payer.
Skippy,
You miss my point:
When Fred the Shred got his huge undeserved wodge there was a public outcry and MPs demanded he pay it back. Fred refused and the MPs demanded the govt go to court. It was then pointed out that legally HMG had no leg to stand upon as the contract was watertight – HMG had bought a pup. At this point assorted socialist idiots tried to claim the “Court of Public Opinion” out ruled any court of law.
Now we have a situation where MPs have recieved huge undeserved wodges and there has been a massive public outcry. The authorities are trying to get the MPs to repay that money but they refuse to do so. Some are even threatening to go to the courts of law to defend their ill-gotten gains despite the overwhelming ruling from the Court of Public Opinion that they should not only repay the money but face trial as well.
It’s the sudden turn around that I was highlighting. It demonstrates that they are grandstanding scumbag hypocrites as well as liars and thieves.
Point taken
Well done, Sir Tom. I admit I didn’t think you had it in you. Now you have to hold the line. They will fight dirty!
Excellent points. The MPs who claim Legg is acting arbitrarily and retrospectively should read their own Green Book. It clearly states that they must act at all times in a responsible manner. They must therefore submit expense claims *responsibly*. MPs are proving once again that the sole qualification for the job is the ability to be a total little shit.
It would nice to know what parameters Legg did use. See what they are squealing about.
Here are his parameters, as reported by the DT. They seem fair enough to me.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6318196/MPs-expenses-how-Sir-Thomas-Legg-drew-up-new-rules-for-claims.html
See also comment 128 above by Rexel 56 at 10:52am.
If Gordon Brown wanted whitewash he should have used Lord Hutton. Or maybe Hutton gets called in after Legg takes a walk in a wood and doesn’t return.
The whole political system up and down the country is corrupted.
House of Lords
House of Commons
County Councils
District Councils
maybe even a few Parish Councils
Quangos, body politics, you name it. Bent.
Sure there are good people out there of all political colours. But they are suffocated and drowned by the sytem of bent elected representatives who are in the ganme for life and are unable to do an honest day’s work outside their game.
Ask yourself next time you pay your rates where the money goes. Ask yourself the next dodgy planning application is passed who was involved.
It has always been thus but it is no excuse for the overflow of obvious greed.
It is easy to say sod the lot of them. The smarter thing to do is stand against them and beat them fair and square at their own game.
Actually I thought the new rules governing the conduct of councillors (even at the parish level) meant they operated under a regime far stricter than that applied to MPs.
Unemploment stats show UK born workforce have shed 695 k jobs while overseas born workers rose by 22k in last quarter.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk1009.pdf
In other words, the Brits are a bunch of lazy bastards.
That 22,000 overseas labour force is purely employed to wipe Mandelson’s arse (yuk!) and clean Brown’s toilet.
Either that or the Brits have gone ‘John Galt’. Or emigrated.
Or the Brits are becoming unemployed in the private sector and the immigrants are being employed in the public sector.
The BBC take on the *increased* figures is that unemeployment has slowed! If only “those men in England that do no work today” were from the BBC then not even Westmoreland would have wanted them.
I have tried several times to quote on Nick Robinson’s log, the section from the Government’s own statistics which report that. Each time I have quoted that section, my comment has been referred to the moderators. Quoting other sections from the report is fine. There is something distinctly sinister about news management at the BBC!
Toenails blog:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2009/10/hush_hush_whisp.html
WHAT ARE ALL THE ‘SECRET INJUNCTIONS’ ?????
If we can get the Trafigura case out in the open, surely there is a way to expose all the other wealthy ne’er do wells who have been applying for ‘super-injunctions’ in the courts ??
People like Alisher Usmanov, Nadhmi Auchi et al – Let us ‘Make Them Famous’, as John McCain might put it..
FREEDOM OF SPEECH – NOW !!!!
Leggy for PM
The HK MSG90A1
Perhaps the parameters of this particular weapon from Heckler & Koch;
“A detachable flash hider suppresses visual signature during firing and optional screw-on sound suppressors can also be attached. The polygonal barrel is weighted at the muzzle to aid harmonic stabilization of barrel whip for increased accuracy. An Anschutz T-way on the forend allows for easy installation of a Harris bipod or other accessories.
The barrel is weighted at the muzzle to aid harmonic stabilization of barrel whip to enhance accuracy. The addition of a flash suppressor adds to the overall barrel length.
The MSG90 has adjustable mechanical sights and an optional 10 x Hensoldt telescopic sight on a quick detachable scope mount.”
Unfortunately,H&K have no vacancies at the moment….
We need Canadian sniper with a .50.
You tell him Guido.
Verily Legg needs to act quickly, get in there first and do unto them what they will undoubtedly try to do him. I wanna hear a 646-strong oceanic roar of squeals!!!
I agree now’s not the time to be a gentleman Sir Thomas………… come out fighting & your 1st target should be the blow hard eejit Bell
30 minutes to PMQ’s and the Doctor is just giving Brown the last of a series of injections in readiness for the coming performance.
Mandelson is at his side;
“Come on Gordon,you CAN do it!”
“Yes Yes – you CAN do it” says Ball’s
“Just make the announcement that due to unforeseen (sic) health problems,you are stepping down immediately and passing over “leadership” to Lord Peter Mandelson of etc etc and the new Chancellor is Ed Balls – you CAN do it Gordon!”
Hello.
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone home?
Come on, now.
I hear youre feeling down.
Well I can ease your pain,
Get you on your feet again.
Relax.
I need some information first.
Just the basic facts:
Can you show me where it hurts?
There is no pain, you are receding.
A distant ships smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I cant hear what youre sayin.
When I was a child I had a fever.
My hands felt just like two balloons.
Now I got that feeling once again.
I cant explain, you would not understand.
This is not how I am.
I have become comfortably numb.
Ok.
Just a little pinprick. [ping]
Therell be no more –aaaaaahhhhh!
But you may feel a little sick.
Can you stand up?
I do believe its working. good.
Thatll keep you going for the show.
Come on its time to go.
There is no pain, you are receding.
A distant ships smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I cant hear what youre sayin.
When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse,
Out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone.
I cannot put my finger on it now.
The child is grown, the dream is gone.
I have become comfortably numb.
Is Michael Jacksie’s medic still looking for a job?
“This Morning, I’m in Love with the Tories – Mehdi Hasan”
Another reason to not vote Tory.
Is the electorate not all drinking the Kool-Aid here offered by Sir Thomas, and surely a poisoned and calculated disenfranchisement follows, hitherto the event horizon of the General Election. Is this basting the turkey of public disillusion, shaving the baby of trust?
Will Sir Thomas truly wear an open kimono here, and name and shame?
Gordon Brown. Scottish.
Wrote a book about the delights of a part of jockland turning ‘red’.
At uni was a real pain in the arse. As rector, Gordon Brown fought and won a fierce running battle with the authorities for the right to chair the court, the university’s governing body. In yet another sign of his future parsimony, he demanded a full list of expenses and entertainment allowances paid to members of the administration.
He wrote in a memo: “In this time of economy I believe it is vital that the university’s finances must not only be properly managed but be seen to be so.”
hypocritical lying hoon!
BRING ‘EM DOWN
Time stood dark and silent and the stars they gave no light
I wandered in an endless dream, haunted by the night
I saw four ghostly riders, the horses in a line
Each in turn did point at me and say ‘I’m on full rein’
We are the sculptors of the land, the rulers of the sea
We are the falcons of your sins, gardeners of the trees
The air about you is burning and the sea below does drown
And the legacy you leave your spawn will surely bring ‘em down
Bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down
Bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down
A curse upon you men of war, with gun or pen in hand
The power sought, or won or bought, the castles made of sand
You always have good reason to take more than you need
Your hearts are full of paper and your minds are full of greed
Bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down
Bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down
What is deeper than the ocean, colder than the grave
Stronger than your armies all and braver than the brave?
Those who know and knowing, O, will sow on fertile ground
Those who don’t and never would are those who will go down
Bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down
Bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down, bring ‘em down.
FAIRPORT CONVENTION
GF please don’t call Sir Stuart Bell a “ridiculous blowhard”. He is a “fucking Hunt”. Please note.
Is the shortly-to-be Lord Bellend-Snout of Boro and Trough?
That Sir Thomas is making me quite dizzy, I’ve always found it best to take my money £108,000 for a four day week and well, do bugger all actually!
Trouser the cash, keep the old head down, what!
Chariot Harman did say on Radio 4 Today that this was just the start of the independent investigations. Oh yeah? And her MP mates will not form the final committee in charge of handing out penalties?
Sralex Ferguson clearly has a better opinion of referees than she does. Harman and the Cabinet chumps are unfit for office.
It makes my blood boil with anger when these lying troughing chumps say they didn’t understand the rules.
The rules were very clearly laid out in the Green Book. The 2006 version has a foreword by Michael Martin which says “Members themselves are responsible for ensuring that their use of allowances is above reproach (www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/HofCpsap.pdf).
The best bit is the Introduction from Andrew Walker, Director of Finance & Administration about the Use of Parliamentary allowances.
Walker says “It is your (MP’s) responsibility to satisfy yourself when you submit a claim, or authorise payments from your staffing allowance, that any expenditure claimed from the allowances has been wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the purpose of performing your Parliamentary duties.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards may investigate allegations of improper use of the allowances. If you overspend, or mischarge something to your allowances, we reserve the right to deduct the costs from your salary or, if you are leaving the House, your resettlement grant”.
Which part of “wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the purpose of performing your Parliamentary duties” do the backbenchers from the Parliamentary Labour Party and the Tory 1922 Committee not understand.
Nick Clegg is right, widen the investigation and throw out every chump who does not behave in a way that can be described by the public as “honourable” or “right honourable.
Where did everyone go?
Four months after the initial furore, Eleanor Laing has not paid back a penny… In the face of all this filth, I am reminded of that famous line from Apocalypse Now, where “the bullshit piles up so fast you need wings just to stay above it.”
What are all these names he is reading out on PMQs?
using our dead boys to waste time getting through pmqs; bastards.
FFS, its about celebrating Guiding now.
Jonah is casting his curse on them as I type.
Seems like this one has been stealing from charities:
http://waugh.standard.co.uk/
Don’t worry, “Her Majesty” will correct it all, right?
That’s Democracy
Walker says “It is your (MP’s) responsibility to satisfy yourself when you submit a claim, or authorise payments from your staffing allowance, that any expenditure claimed from the allowances has been wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred for the purpose of performing your Parliamentary duties.
they claim they didnt understand the rules!!!!!
if they are so thick then i believe they have no place as mps!!!!!!!
646 of them-60 million of us!!!!!!
The next area to come under scrutiny should be the office expenses charged by MPs. My MP walks about with a halo around his head because he has been canny enough to keep clear of claiming excessive personal expenses. However,his office expenses bear close examination.Family and friends drawing salaries etc.,
Legge,please get your remit extended to check all expenses.
Yea mine too.
Thinks he’s above it all looking smug.
Trouble is he took the near max allowed for a second home when he can commute like me.
Why should he keep any profits at the eventual sale of the second property if we are paying for it?
The whole thing stinks.
He may fool some, but he doesn’t fool me.
It’s the arrogance of these people which beggars belief.
Beloved leader Napoleon,
fearless faithful guardian!
Proud and strong,
protect us from the wrong,
you will defend us
with your lofty trotter.
Our pigs, our pigs, our pigs:
there is no beast that’s braver!
They will not ever waver!
They face the fight,
for right with might
Glorious, great and triumphant,
gallant hero resilient!
Proud and strong,
protect us from the wrong,
you will defend us
with your lofty trotter
Our pigs, our pigs, our pigs.
Watching the PMQ’s with a pair of top of the range Sennheiser headphones – picked up at the end of PMQ’s when the PM’s statement was introduced;
Bob Aintworthit got up and moves next to Brown
Bob says to Brown;
“No one goes to Afghanistan without training”
Brown mumbles “wait”
Bob has another go; “Nobody deploys without training,TA or anyone”
Brown tries to look the other way while Bob then puts his arm around Brown’s bottom and continues trying to get the monster to listen.
Fascinating – like watching a station ticket collector dealing with a naughty child.
They have just stopped all T.A training and exercises in U.K. to save a few million, these are the people that are called up to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq to provide logistics communications and medical support to our heavily over-stretched professional troops. Look at Browns record as regards funding our armed forces in the past esp. as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Brown just announced another 500 troops to be sent to Afghanistan. He likes the kudos, but its all political front. Courage indeed!…the man’s a complete disgrace.
The BBC are a complete disgrace! On Nick Robinson’s Blog, you can quote the following from the Government’s own statistics:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lmsuk1009.pdf
“The number of people in public sector employment was 6.04 million in June 2009, up 13,000 from March 2009. The number of people in private sector employment was 22.85 million, down 230,000 from March 2009.”
But any attempt to quote the following or to refer to it is censored:
“The number of UK born people in employment (not seasonally adjusted) was 25.10 million in the three months to June 2009, down 625,000 from the three months to June 2008. The number of non-UK born people in employment (not seasonally adjusted) was 3.73 million, up 22,000 from the three months to June 2008.”
The BBC are extremely sinister in their news management!
Robinson’s Blog is here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2009/10/hush_hush_whisp.html
We notice these things, when unemployment stats say has increased by x tens of thousands from the last quarter the spin is “unemployment figures show slow down”, I.E slow down from last quarter. Trouble is the plebs that have been ‘educated’ under New Labour are illiterate and innumerate and not capable of any reasoned thought or logical analysis, I suspect many of the said now work for the BBC.
We’ll get away with it and a bloody good thing too! Sod the proles – losers every one of you – I am all for claiming every sodding penny that I can get away with and then some! I’ve ‘ad a bloody good time as an MP – plenty of shagging, eating and drinking, all at the proles expense and so what? I’m worth every bloody penny and every last shag (by the way, what are you doing tonight ‘arriet?). So bugger off the lot of you – there’s bugger all that you can do to get any money out of me and I’m going to continue boozing, eating and shagging at your expense as long as I bloody well can (I might even ‘ave a go at Jackie again before she gets too fat and unattractive!) ‘appy days!
In 35 years as an elector, this is the first time I’ve ever wanted a Labour canvasser to knock on my door. Please, make my day…
No chance of that, they darn’t even shove a leaflet through the door and then run away sharpish like.
From the REDDITCH Standard earlier this week.
A WOMAN was sentenced by Redditch magistrates for benefit fraud on Wednesday, October 7.
Tracey Onions, aged 34 of Ombersley Close, Woodrow was given a two-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, plus a 12-month supervision order.
She had dishonestly claimed Housing Benefit of £9,520.10, Income Support of £5,942.44, and Council Tax Benefit of £2,181.67 between February 2006 and December 2008.
Anyone out there have the access to papers etc. to suggest they set up a meeting between Ms Onions and Jacqui Smith so that they can compare their experiences? Or p[erhaps arrange for Ms Onions to pop into Jacqui’s surgery for advice – oops too late!
Steak and Onions.
Redditch magistrates said the sentence would have been higher had it not been for the early guilty plea.
They also told her that the money will have to be repaid in full to both the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Redditch Borough Council.
A spokesperson for Redditch Borough Council, said: “This investigation shows the value of suspected fraud being reported as soon as possible.”
Anybody wishing to report a suspected case of benefit fraud can e-mail benefitsfraud@redditchbc.gov.uk or call the fraud hotline on 01527 534 164 at any time.
http://www.redditchstandard.co.uk/news84281.html
When is the next opinion poll out?
Let’s lance this “retrospective” bollocks once and for all….
The rules said that only things directly relevant to the job can be claimed for.
Having your gardening and laundry paid for is most definitely not directly relevant to your job as it’s supposed to be part of the standard living costs that you’d pay out of your own post-taxed income. So every penny of those things was falsely claimed and went against the rules.
Legg was being very generous, because he could have told MPs to pay back the full whack.
If this went to court, then there’d be 2 upshots:
1) The court would find that *all* their gardening/cleaning “expenses” were against the rules.
2) The court would find that even if it was within their own rules, then they should have paid tax on them because it was clearly a perk and not an expense.
Let the MPs go to court, and let HMRC/CPS/police investigate too, because then they’d all be found guilty of massive tax fraud as well as breaking their own rules.
This “retrospective” argument is false; it’s not a retrospective rule, it’s a partial repayment for what never should have been claimed in the first place as it went against their own rules at the time.
Quite. Since when were MPs granted Servants paid for by the Taxpayer? If they are too idle to do their own ironing and washing then their servants` wages should come out of their own wages.
Rubbish; I have a god-given right for you plebs to pay for all my servants. And you can even pay for the servants that other people employ in the houses that I stay in too.
If I’m staying in someone else’s house, then I expect you to pay for someone to wipe my arse for me just as if I was in my own house, and you can pay for the fucking toilet paper too.
You bloody tell ‘em Gordon! The proles should wipe your bloody arse, just like your grovellin’ cabinet ministers lick it for you when you’re in t’Ouse o’ Commons. I see Jackie ‘as gorraway wi’ it again – she’s a fat ugly old tart but worth one last shag I reckon, before you promote ‘er to t’Ouse o’ Lords for services rendered and for not bein’ to fussy about bein’ filled in regularly by thee an’ me. She’s certainly rendered us a few “services” in ‘er time – chuckle
I do not think that Legg deserves any praise whatsoever .
He was chosen for the job because he is a clone of the noble Lord Hutton .
An ex diplomat who knows Legg describes him as an unctious piece of slime.
As soon as bits of the report were leaked the grubby Mandelson was slightly
critical . Gordon swiftly echoed his masters voice . This set the tone for a multitude of MPs to protest about Legg and moan about Brown .
We are being snowed big time ,thrown a bone in the hope that attention
will be diverted from the criminal fraud of Smith,Morely and others .
If Legg was really serious about this retrospective smokescreen he would have made it clear that any MP failing to pay would have double the amount
deducted from any resettlement grant .
Legg’s report is not a genuine piece of work , it is only the end product of
Mandelson’s deliberations about damage limitation .
Even slimy Mandelson knows that Labour cannot emerge from this scandal
in the clear and will have to take some flak,so tactictly it has to appear that
Legg has grown some backbone.
Mandelson is well out of date . When he successfully sold the concept of
New Labour in the ’90s there was no blogosphere and few people knew that
he is a cheating, lying,corrupt toerag.
You are so right my friend, yet will the multitude cotton on to what is happening here?
I fear not.
The real Fraud is in fact Jackie Smith and the second home allowances and he non existant mortgages and the Baroness of uddin and The Chancellor flippin, yep the Flippin.
Indeed there be Dragons.
I fear we are even off the page with regards posing on this thread as it has moved on to another.
Any “ex diplomat” who would talk to you must have been signing on at the same dole office. You seem to be as credulous as you are illiterate.
Oh Dracula fancy finding you here. What brings you round these parts at this time of night ?