Isn’t it funny how Brown won’t turn up to Parliament to represent the people of Kirkcaldy and earn the £65,738, plus expenses and the pension, we pay him? Instead he goes around the world as he bids to restore his reputation, banking thousands for speeches while he does so. Yet Obama turns up, and he’s up there like a greyhound. Perhaps it was to complain that those DVDs didn’t work…

Neo-Guido took on Mark Pack of LibDemVoice last night on the BBC News Channel to discuss why Laws was dished out the humiliating and potentially career ending punishment:

One thing really stands out in the Parliamentary Commissioners report:

“In July 2007, Mr Laws and his landlord moved to a second London property. This was financed in part by a gift of £99,000 from Mr Laws. Mr Laws remortgaged his Somerset property to provide this sum.”

Laws “gifted” the £99,000 to his boyfriend. Effectively he put up part of the deposit. Of course if he had an ongoing interest in the property he would not have been able to claim for the “rent”. Laws deliberately and knowingly played the system to allow him to claim rent to pay for a property in which he would have had an interest if his £99,000 share hadn’t been technically written off as a “gift”. No amount of spin that he could have saved the taxpayer money if he had lived elsewhere can disguise the fact this stinks. A seven day suspension is a humiliation, but Laws, Grender and Pack etc should be glad it’s wasn’t seven months at Her Majesty’s Pleasure…

David Laws has been found guilty of six breaches of expenses rules by Commissioner for Standards. He can breath a sigh of relief that the case was shown to the coppers who did not decide to prosecute, but it’s not looking good with Parliament.

Nicholas Cecil at the Standard has more details:

“The suggestion is there were six breaches.They are understood to include breaking regulations on claims for a second home, statements made to the Commons authorities, renting property from a partner and other issues.”

That Cabinet return is looking bleak. Developing…

UPDATE: The Standards and Privaleges Committee is meeting right about now and will report back later in the week. For comparison Jacqui Smith did not get suspended, did not have to pay the money back and merely had to apologise to the House when she fiddled over £100,000.

Last week Guido revealed how Unison rep and former nurse Jane Pilgrim was depriving the public of a nurse in a frontline role at St. George’s Hospital in Tooting. Yesterday the Mail on Sunday exposed how she is also depriving families in need of  housing through the commune of which she is the head.  The Crescent Road Community consist of three dilapidated houses in Kingston upon Thames, where thirty “peace and love” activists live. They have ignored attempts to have them evicted and and are living there illegally.

Nurse Pilgrim is now subject to a double investigation at St Georges, including one into why she was using the image of one of the hospital’s directors to promote her private consultancy without his knowledge or permission. Guido hears that she is in rather a lot of trouble…

The TaxPayers’ Alliance have found 2,493 Pilgrims across the public sector, union officials, paid not to provide the service they represent, but instead do political activities that should be funded by the unions. Without having to pay their staff, the unions can spend the money raised through their subs on other things, like keeping the Labour Party solvent. They’re costing us millions and, as last week’s investigation showed, they’re completely unaccountable. Do you know a Nurse Pilgrim in your hospital or school? Tell Guido…

So Gordon’s spokesgirl Kirsty McNeill denies that he is going anywhere. It seems the Labour MPs in the tea-room may have been getting a little ahead of themselves. Those so quick to accept her line completely might like to ask her why she is touting her CV around London head hunters though…

In nearly a year of being paid over £5,000 a month to represent the people of Kirkcaldy, Brown’s attendance record proves what everyone already knows – that his heart is not in it. He doesn’t turn up at debates, has asked just a handful of written questions and has done nothing to earn his taxpayer-funded salary. If he’s not really planning on shortly moving on, why not?

UPDATE: A co-conspirator writes:

Worth pointing out that likely successor John Park MSP suddenly stood down from his FPTP seat in the Edinburgh elections. Easing the way for a move to Westminster despite being Labour’s election coordinator.

Guido is getting wind of a rumour from Labour circles that Gordon is set to resign as an MP later on this week. It would make sense to allow the by-election to take place on the May 5th, and if the writ is to be moved in time it needs to happen ASAP. The Lords is apparently beckoning, and finally the people of Kirkcaldy will get the representation they deserve. Since standing down, the former Prime Mentalist has has an abominable attendance record and spent his time writing and lecturing while still taking the shilling.

A rumour, but we can but hope…

Leominster resident Jim Miller has been hot on the tail of his local MP Bill Wiggin, who regular readers will know is in all sorts of trouble regarding his expenses. In the latest twist Piggin’ Wiggin is refusing to comment on why he spent £1,166.10 “wholly, exclusively and necessarily” for his duties as an MP on various digital cameras. In one year.

Wiggin is refusing to be interviewed or to even meet with Miller to address some of the concerns raised. Why?

Well if Miller’s track record is anything to go by it could be the nail in the coffin for the troughing Tory whip. Miller put together a report into his local councillors expenses. Many of which are Wiggin allies and supporters. Highlighting flaws and cases to answer, Miller sent it over to the council’s auditor. The blunt reply says it all:

Subject: Cllr Expenses
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:07:56 +0100
From: ██████@herefordshire.gov.uk
To: █████████████████████
CC: ██████@herefordshire.gov.uk

Dear Mr Miller

Regarding you complaints I write to inform you that after today I will not be employed by Herefordshire Council, Both your complaints are being investigated by the Audit Team, and a reply will be sent to you.

If you have any further queries on the subject please contact Carrie Wright at the above email address

Thank you

Tony Ford

Chief Internal Auditor

No answer. Wiggin has his association AGM this weekend and is heading into it as the only MP to be investigated a second time for his expenses. One of those to sign Wiggin’s nomination forms at the election has quit the Tories in disgust at the various expenses messes. He will be standing as an independent in May.

Wiggin must be hoping there are no more surprises on the way…

Back in 2009 eagle-eyed Scottish journalist Paul Hutcheon, who is the investigations man at The Herald, cornered Labour’s Jim Devine. His dodgy receipts, VAT numbers and mystery shelving reeked. As the expenses scandal progressed, The Sunlight Centre saw an opportunity to further the exposé and reported Devine to the Met. This morning he is facing a lengthy spell at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

Devine didn’t exactly help his cause before the trial:

It’s taken time, but justice looks set to be served at the Old Bailey – jail for stealing from the taxpayer. Law makers can not be law breakers and should be treated harshly in view of their position of power.

Four years before the likely General Election the Tories have decided to very publicly select a candidate in Rotherham. Officially the Party’s “Parliamentary Spokesman” for Denis MacShane’s seat, Jackie Whiteley fought it at the last election, increasing the Conservative vote to 16.7% pushing the LibDems into take second place.

It’s almost as if they are planning for a by-election…

IPSA is under prolonged and heavy attack from MPs who are using every trick in the book to undermine and thwart it. It is fair to say that IPSA was a badly conceived idea produced in a panic during the dying days of the Brown tyranny, it wastes a lot of money itself and could in truth be better organised. Nevertheless one fact strikes Guido, the new expenses regime has saved £18 million. The fact that MPs hate the bureaucracy created might make them think about the quangos and regulations they inflict upon us. The political class has only itself to blame. Remember 52% of MPs had to repay fiddled expenses…

Back in 2009, before IPSA was set up, the Sunlight Centre produced recommendations which included a House of Commons debit card as the best way to regulate legitimate expenses. The transactions would as normal be electronically recorded and could thus be published online in real-time, the spending limits would be automatic and bureaucracy would be minimal. The idea was first proposed in Disinfecting Parliament, a report that recommended a number of measures based on best practice in the private sector that could easily be transferred to IPSA. Two years later IPSA has finally announced a plan to introduce debit cards…