IPSA MPs’ Expenses Reform : Keep it in the Family
Guido is just digesting the reforms announced:
Good
End to first class travel, only standard class to be reimbursed.
MPs can no longer buy taxpayer-funded second homes.
Bad
MPs will still be allowed to employ husbands, wives, mistresses and kids.
Updates:
Good
The number of MPs unable to claim any accommodation allowance has gone up from 25 to 128. These 128 MPs are now, like normal people, deemed to live within commuting distance of Westminster.
MPs are specifically banned from buying goods and services from family members or business partners, whereas before they were only instructed to “consult the Fees Office.”
Any airmiles earned (or similar bonuses) must be used for parliamentary purposes, not personal benefit.
Members have until August 2012 to get rid of mortgages.
Bad
Any family members current employed are allowed to continue until in their jobs “until the date when the party in question ceases to be employed or otherwise to provide staffing assistance.” It does not specify whether this means at the General Election.
Jacqui Smith’s fat, useless, porn watching hubbie will be delighted
MPs will not be allowed taxpayer-funded second homes under new expenses rules being announced this morning. Chair of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Sir Ian Kennedy also announced that MPs would have to show a receipt before they received their expenses claims, and would not be reimbursed for the costs of their commute.
New rules in full:
- No second homes
- MPs will not qualify for support if they live within 20 miles of constituency
- Additional support for those who care for others: MPs will qualify if their children are under five, single parents, or have children getting additional support from the state.
- Cost of cleaning and gardening will not be met
- Travel: no help for daily commute, cost to trips of constituencies on public transport will be reimbursed
- Budget based on 3.5 full time staff subject to a contract – will pay NI and pension contribution
- Will be able to employ “connected parties”, with safeguards. Only one connected person with agreed contract and no bonuses. New rules will not affect family or partners who work for MPs already.
- Will cover winding up costs on leaving Parliament for two months
- Will not pay resettlement allowance
Like that will make a difference
> MPs will still be allowed to employ husbands, wives, mistresses and kids.
Yippeee!!!
re: mistresses and employment
got to make sure you get your bang for your buck
Mummy’s delighted!
Think most of those will disappear at the next election.
MPs will be able to continue to employ one relative – but the new expenses chief Sir Ian Kennedy said they would be subject to safeguards.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8592174.stm
Anybody can employ their family, if you think about it. And mistresses are ten-a-penny in most companies.
Good, i was worried i wouldnt be able to give my Peter his grand a week pocket money.
And Charles, Ann, Edward, Andrew and all the others work so hard.
They work a damed sight harder than these bastard labour ministers
I’m having a celebratory wank right now
Me too! A right good tug, got a picture of Cathy Ashton as well!!
Me too, bashing one out right now, I’ve got a lovely glossy shot of five bellies smith
Have another fifth of one as she has six bellies now!
Jacqui Smith… isn’t that the “Ugly” bit Guido left out of the equation?
she wants putting over that suite and giving a right good…. that’ll change that smirk on her face
I hope cthis is not retrospective and only applies to new MPs. If it applies to us then we are ruined.
Yes, but think how much better you’ll smell.
You mean I have to sell my mansion in the cotswalds, give up my massive taxpayer funded mortgage and rent a one bedroomed flat in London instead?
Huh, I’ve got a real property portfolio !!
It’s why I copied you.
get tablets
Cotswalds?? Labour educated.
“Labour educated?”
Clearly.
no approved
Jut Labour, full stop
Here’s the missing ‘s’ from the above post.
Expecting our MPs to travel second class on the railways is too much. Who in our society do we think has a greater right to first class travel than our elected representatives?
We should also bow whenever ushered into their presence and address them as your majesty.
Why the hell don’t HMRC rules apply to them? In that last time I worked in an accountancy practice HMRC always demanded to see proof that they were actually doing real work for the company. If they didn’t they’d demand an amendment to the accounts. 2009 we had a ton of amendments because of this.
You IR35 if you want to, that tax is not for the likes of us MP’s!
Nah, IR35 is used to screw small contractors over so that the big boys of Crapita, ED(useles)S, etc. can get all those peachy goverment contracts.
Screwing husband-and-wife companies is done through Section 660.
However! Senior Civil Servants must also not be allowed First Class travel, either! Treat ‘em the same.
Easier to abolish First Class carriages?
That will happen naturally Mitch: 80% of travellers in them are state employees of one sort or another on the public teat.
We’re working on abolishing the railways altogether.
Ain’t that the truth – fuckwits
The pemitted “Standard Open” ticket is pretty bloody expensive anyway and I’m sure could be upgraded to First for a relatively small payment from the MPs’ own income. For pre-planned trips with plenty of advance notice, one of the myriad “Saver” tickets would suffice.
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OT but here we go:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Tory-Poster-Campaign-Of-Gordon-Brown-Spoof
crap
Is there a none of the above button?
So, when do we find out how much of a salary increase they will be getting?
As sure as eggs is eggs, that is what is coming.
They’ve just phuqin had one.
“Senior MPs today queued up to renounce a pay rise worth almost £1,000 amid fears of a public backlash.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/mar/05/ministers-shadow-renounce-mps-pay-rise
Equally O/T
Saint Vince grovels….it appears that he was invited for coffee and biscuits purely at his own request
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/liberaldemocrats/7534160/Vince-Cable-apologises-for-Treasury-boast.html
It was only a matter of time before this 3rd rate Jimmy Saville impersonator was exposed for the idiot he always was.
Now then now then now then, I shall be making an announcement about the welcome return of Shawaddywaddy on my Vince’l Fix it show later tonight, how about that then guys and gals?
I believe he was once a labour Glasgow councillor.
Seems to have got a lot of credit for stating the obvious.
Who was it in Treasury who had a score to settle with Cable?
So when we lose the election, Gordon will have to travel second class to his rented London one bedroomed flat while I have to live in poxy Jockland and put up with the kids?
Too many letters. luv.
well its time you put gordon over that suite and gave him a right good…..
What about food claims?
I’m not an MP, but I still eat
Fookin PIEs!
I’m sure the widow Pyes would rather you kept that under your (f)’at Steward.
Who ate all the Pies ?
Who ate all the Pies ?
you fat bastard, you fat bastard
I ate all the Pies
I was bulimic again last night, I brought up my 2 lamb buna’s, 4 sag aloo’s a family sized Beef Madras and 11 pints of John Smiths. I can’t keep anything down you know.
its time pauline put you over the suite and gave you a right good….
Sorry to hear that John. I ate more than you and nowt appened to me lad.
I’ll bet there’s a big fat pay rise coming the MPs way to compensate…
It will be in line with European guidelines and certainly no more than the going rate for whores of our stature.
Good news for OH,
better than working… get the Missus on da Train…
Martin Day and all who vote labour are workshy benefit bred Scum.
What about Lords?
Leave us Lords alone, we need first class time travel, besides, ours is paid for by the Beeb!
well thats sorted done and dusted put to bed set in stone…back to normal just a bit more careful with the invoices. Roll on new batch of pollys to dissect.
It is NOT the end of First Class travel – presumably the tight fisted hoons can pay for an upgrade with their own money? – just like I used to when I was at work (pay for First Class upgrade, that is – not be a hoon!!!!)
Yes, if you buy a full price, anytime, second class ticket, the cost of an upgrade to 1st isn’t that much extra.
Does an employer have to advertise a post they wish to fill? If so will a job with an MP have to be advertised to the public and then after an interview process the best qualified person would get that job? Just asking.
Actually, in British employment law the idea of “the most qualified” is irrelevant. In the UK, an employer can advertise a job asking for certain skills and then employ someone else who meets none of the advertised requirements. This is NOT illegal in the UK and, of course, allows for the most dishonest and insincere acts.
Whatever happens they should be subject to the HMRC rules as the rest of us, and exactly the same jeopardy if they break the rules.
Blairs shredder excuse was pathetic!!
The shredder excuse was indeed a pathetic – especially in this electronic age. The paper trail may have been destroyed but what about the electronic trail?
Tony Blair – the Peoples’ pillock.
No more first class. Except when flying, which is where most of the money is wasted, sorry spent. Then again, if they ban First or Club, BA will go down even faster than Unite can manage.
I flew back from San Francisco recently in economy, and it was full of Intel and other tech employees – Despite the billions, they keep a close eye on the pennies – why should we not expect our useless public servants to do the same?
[...] pay, paying interns IPSA (the Independent Parliamentary Standards Association) have today published their new scheme for Parliamentary Expenses, back-tracking on their earlier proposal to make the payment of parliamentary interns mandatory [...]
This bloody interns business makes me puke anyway. WTF is an “intern”? A glammy sound Americanism for some kind of unpaid skivvy who is so desperate for a rung on any ladder they’ll work for nowt.
Just call it work experience which is what it us to be and still is. Bah Humbug!
I agree. No.10 now has a ‘Chief of Staff’ – I ask you!! When are we going to grab our Nation back from the bloody yanks and the neuleiber shits?
I can recommend some cheap hired help.
All very well, however we still have more than half of MP’s across the house who have looted, stolen and lied about their expenses and only received a slap on the wrist.
Can you imagine a proven benefit cheat (for that is the category MP’s are in) being let off so lightly.
Can you imagine an employee at any supermarket you care to mention let off for eating the profits, or an employee “with a proper job” in a commercial venture let off for fiddling his expenses on such a scale!
NO! didn’t think so!
Its a disgrace of national proportions!
Reevo, I read last week in my local newspaper that a young man had wrongly claimed £6000 from social security. His punishment, and of course he should be punished, was to be tagged and is on curfew from 8pm to 8 am.
What punishment have the thieving MPs been given? Zilch. A rule for them and a different rule for the rest of them.
It’s, a start.
But IPSA needs a people’s oversight committee to ensure compliance. We can’t trust IPSA to do the work, look what happened to Filken, and we need to ensure that those scum bags at Westminster don’t try to subvert IPSA. Constant vigilance is needed to ensure that the rules are adhered to .
Cutting back on the accomodation allowancve is fime for those in govt – there are a raft of grace and favour flats for ministers. its not so good for the opposition.
So Mr F ypou are wrong there.
And wrong on employing family. As long as its open and published and the electorate can decide then so what? An MP needs a secretary etc so why not let that be done by his/ her spouse. Without a shadow of a doubt many do good work. Why should the wife of a Cumbria or scottish hebredian or northern MP have to live a separate life??
Just nasty nit picking from you. Its what makes you such a pain in what is otherewise good work. But I supposae it helps yopu make money. Its your concience not mine.
What about the LibDems’ trick of using allowances to fund their political campaigning? Anything on that?
Kim Kardasian and Demi Moore are having a twitter feud and yo lead with this?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1261581/Demi-Moore-gets-Twitter-row-Kim-Kardashian.html
Unbelievable
Assume Nadine Dorries will be keeping just one of her unqualified daughters on her very lucrative salary? What will the other two do? Poor loves.
Nadine Dorries must be relieved.
“It does not specify whether this means at the General Election.”
Staff who are employed by an MP who is standing again, and who wins, continue to be employed through the election period and remain in service after the election.
Therefore if a family member is employed by an MP who stands again and is election, they will still be there after May 6th.
Sir Ian Kennedy is a complete, time served, bench polishing wanker! Nepotism was abolished in the Civil Service over 100 years ago, why are MP’s held to be outside of these principles?
You just watch as all the ‘reform’ promised in the wake of the expenses scandel starts to unravel.