“....is incredibly busy, so she has to use her time as efficiently as possible.”and
"Whenever she is travelling to meetings, she will schedule in a number of business calls to make the best use of this travel time. Because of the confidential nature of these discussions, it is not possible to hold them in public."
Are we surprised?
Yesterday, the Queen's Speech, setting out the government's final plans for the country before facing the electorate in next year's general election, was conspicuous by one very large omission - there was no mention of any legislation relating to MP's expenses.
Following one of the biggest political scandals of the last few years, you would think that regaining the trust of the public in politicians (should I, instead, have said gain?) would be right up there at the top of the agenda but apparently that is not the case.
Perhaps, they are hoping we will become so distracted, by experiencing the inevitable financial cuts and increased taxation we are all about to face, we will simply forget the scams and fiddling that has been so rife in the Palace of Westminster - they think they will simply carry on as if nothing happened.
Well, just like the proverbial elephants, we must send the strongest possible message that we definitely won't ever forget!
It has been a while since I last posted on here, following my spectacular dive down the stairs and my teeth numbing stop, using my head as a brake, against a doorframe.
Since my unplanned flight, I have been living on Planet Concussion. It is a strange world I entered after needing the rather confusing quality of service available from the NHS (could do better – maybe more written later) and where I have imagined strange things to be happening all around me.
For instance, I had visions of the leader of the over hyped and allegedly racist BNP being grilled on Question Time while outside the studios, demonstrations were taking place ; of MPs being made to re-pay and apologise for the expenses they had inadvertently claimed while “just following the rules”; of X Factor contestants taking up more space in newspapers than proper journalism; of footballer’s wives miraculously being able to give birth to babies; of even more of our troops losing their lives in a mystical land called Afghanistan; of senior scientific advisors to the government being sacked for not agreeing with the political will of our rulers; of bankers being curbed from receiving huge bonuses for doing what they are already paid to do and of the next prime minister of our great country performing a complete U-turn over holding a referendum over Europe.
The weirdest vision of all was the one where Transport for London insisted that actress Kelly Brook should have her own 'buns' concealed with...even bigger buns on a poster advertising the play Calender Girls on London's underground trains.
Planet Concussion is a scary place to be and I am really looking forward to returning to the real world, where things like these would never happen!!
One of the best quotes of the day, referring to the MP's expenses repayment saga, must have been supplied by Ann Widdecombe, Tory MP for Maidstone.
She was trying to make the point, that limits for expenses should not have been imposed on MPs retrospectively and was implying that MPs should be trusted to govern themselves.
However, her words have inadvertently described what a large majority of the voting public must be thinking about the whole sorry episode.
During an interview for the BBC Ms. Widdecombe said:
"if we can't govern ourselves within the rules of natural justice we certainly ain't fit to govern anybody else"
Well, it seems they have proved that they can't .... and many in this country think that they are not!
OK..Ok it's time to own up...aren't you feeling just a little bit of sympathy for that dysfunctional group of society called MPs?
After all, they have just returned from weeks and weeks on an expensive summer vacation (working in their constituencies, of course, and not holidaying in their second homes or travelling the world) to find that most of their number are receiving letters demanding they pay back expenses they have 'mistakenly' claimed in the past, not knowing they had never incurred them in the first place.
Of course, they are not guilty of having abused the system, they are just the poor persecuted victims of an unjust media world. Their only crime, in reality, was to get caught!
So....do you own up to feeling sympathy? I would guess not!!
At times of financial downturn in the economy and when politicians are having to justify the bad news about raising taxes and cutting public services to refill fiscal potholes, it is always the easy option to highlight those in our country who are unable to defend themselves. I refer of course to those who are receiving benefits.
An article in today's Sunday Times has reported that the Conservatives would force the jobless back to work by stopping their benefits, if they do not enter into privately run training schemes.
Of course, forgetting for a moment, the obvious point that training is about as much use as a cat flap on a submarine, when there are not the jobs available for the newly 'trained' to fill, it is insulting to brand, by implication, that all of those who are receiving benefits are a drain on public funds and scroungers.
It is no fun to be unemployed and the people who target them are usually those who have never themselves had to suffer the indignity of entering a job centre. They have never been unfortunate enough to need the help.
Most of them watch programmes and read papers that sensationalise the actions of the minority who abuse the system and then tar all other claimants with the same brush.
As we have found out recently, however, where there is a system to be abused, there are always those who abuse it. I refer, of course, to the MP's expenses scandal.
Most people who have received benefits over a long period do not want to be in that position. They want to work but have often lost all self belief and confidence in any ability they may have for finding a job. Single mothers are unable to afford the childcare that will enable them to work even part time. Many do not have the help of immediate families. They are not living the high life, they are trapped by the same system they are accused of abusing.
Interestingly, the simplistic view of the Conservative policy announced today makes no mention of those who have entered our country from abroad and used the UK as a benefits 'cashpoint' and then sent the money back to their families abroad.
Neither, is there a mention of the billions of pounds being lost by those who are able to exploit loopholes in the tax system and deprive the revenue - and the rest of the country - of the benefit. These cheats are not treated with the same scorn as benefit claimants and instead are often feted and admired.
Perhaps, this is because funding of our political parties is largely received from such donors?
It is regarded by many as a socially acceptable fraud but, in reality, it is just as much of a fraud as that perpetrated by the minority who abuse the benefit system.
I was lucky enough to have a friend who has been trapped as a long term claimant of benefits. She has fought to bring her two children up as respectable, intelligent, responsible and much loved individuals. She has struggled and her children have missed out on the things that most children take for granted, but they are neither bitter or envious; they are grounded.
I have gained far more respect for her, than I will ever have for the politicians who seek to make cheap political capital by attacking those who cannot afford a voice!
Walk through any shopping centre in the UK and you will see discount offers a plenty, aimed at boosting trade for a range of struggling businesses.
The German's have gone one better and are offering customers of their brothels the chance to sleep with as many prostitutes as they want.... all for a one off fee!
If that isn't tempting enough, they have other offers, including rebates for customers on benefits or pensions, free shoe cleaning for overnight guests and ten per cent off if you arrive on a bicycle or by public transport.
With deals like that, I am sure our euro MPs will be queueing down the street for the chance to get the taxpayer the best value for their claimed expenses!!
With what has turned out to be rather bizarre timing, the government announced on Tuesday, their plans for a broadband tax on phone lines in the UK, to guarantee all of us are able to surf the internet at the highest possible speeds.
Today, the Commons authorities have published over a million documents on the internet relating to the expenses claimed by our politicians over the past four years.
According to the Prime Minister:
"My principle in this is the maximum transparency - it's got to be consistent of course with security but I think people have got to be as transparent as possible"
The released documents are so "transparent" that most of the interesting detail has been blacked out and cannot be read.
Of course, the censored sections have nearly all been revealed by the Daily Telegraph revelations already. So what is the reasoning behind such an action?........you've guessed it.......security!! That convenient excuse for hiding embarrassing facts, has been brought into play again.
Apparently, it is to protect the politicians from their constituents knowing their home addresses. However, this also makes it difficult to see which politicians have 'flipped' their homes over the four year period.
One of the people who brought the original Freedom of Information request targeting MP's expenses summed it up thus:
"I can see that avoiding embarrassment has been the key motivating factor of what's been deleted"
It makes me wonder, how much of the proposed super fast broadband will be conveniently blacked out when 'transparency' proves it could be embarrassing!
If the wheels on Prime Minister Gordon Brown's bus have not yet fallen off, they are certainly wobbly to the point of collapse.
Following yesterday's rumour that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is to leave his cabinet, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, has now followed, using perfect showbiz timing (some might question what she ever did anyway).
Of course, both women have been severely criticised recently for their dubious use of the expenses system and both were tipped to be removed from their positions in the cabinet in the next few days. But, while it might be almost believable that Ms Smith's intentions are honourable, in the case of Ms Blears they are most certainly not.
To walk out so publically just a day ahead of tomorrow's polling, is nothing short of a treacherous act, aimed at toppling her leader over the cliff edge, on which he is presently balancing. She is, by her action, hoping to kick-start an open revolt amongst Labour MPs to force the PM from office. It could be that she will succeed.
Tonight, it was reported, that the signatures of over a hundred MPs have already been collected, in a sign of no confidence in their leader.
Blears' actions have been described by one political commentator as being "Deliberate, calculated and with intent".
Whether Brown goes or stays - and I really could not care as they all seem to be odious individuals who command no respect - I just hope that Blears, by displaying such disloyalty, will never be seen performing in the political spotlight again.
It's five days since I last posted on here and despite North Korea setting off underground nuclear explosions, petrol prices rising again, paedophiles in Portugal and Peter and Katie still being apart, one story is still managing to cling onto the headlines after a staggering twenty plus days - MPs expenses!
Even the media's hysteria over Swine Flu has fallen to the back of the news queue despite the number of cases in the UK now standing at 150 or more.
My own MP, Derek Wyatt, (he claimed for pork pies among other things) has announced to the local press that he and his colleagues would be happy to give up their claims to expenses - but only if they are given a considerable rise. He claims they are fine upstanding citizens who should be recognised as senior members of society by being paid as 'chief executives' of the communities they represent - but where in most cases they fail to live.
He had a massive majority of....just 79... at the last election, so I would imagine he could well be regretting his arrogance when his disenchanted voters tell him in no uncertain terms what he is really worth!
Let's hope he had the foresight to put away some of the money he claimed while he was just 'following the rules'
If you’re looking for an example of just how contemptuous some MPs still are after being caught milking the expenses system, you do not have to look further than Conservative MP, Anthony Steen.
He was revealed in the recent Telegraph revelations for letting his daughter live rent free in the London flat used to claim his second home allowance and subsequently selling it to her at less than its market value.
The Totnes MP hit back by saying:
"I've done nothing criminal, that's the most awful thing, and do you know what it's about? Jealousy."I've got a very, very large house. Some people say it looks like Balmoral. It's a merchant's house of the 19th century. It's not particularly attractive, it just does me nicely"
He also said that government ministers had “mucked up the system” by introducing the Freedom of Information Act.
Conservative Party leader, David Cameron has since severely admonished his MP, and announced Steel is to stand down at the next election.
Cameron commented:
“It was a completely unacceptable thing to say. He's announced his retirement from Parliament."
The whole incident is really best summed up by a comment from Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague who described Steen’s words as “ridiculous”
It seems such a description is also applicable to the man himself!
It would be very easy to bore the bum off you with another story of greed and deception in Parliament, but to be honest there are only so many expletives one can use to describe those greedy, arrogant shits.
Tonight then I am going to give you the night off and focus on someone who is worth talking about, a man called Dr Rob Carson.
Doctor Carson, is a GP who practices in a small town in Australia.
Last week, the mother of a 12 year old boy brought her son to his surgery. The boy had been complaining about a severe headache following a bad fall from his bicycle, earlier in the day.
Dr Carson realised immediately the boy had bleeding on the brain and he would need to do something fast or he could die.
He had no specialised neurological instruments in his surgery so without wasting a second he said to an assistant "Get the Black and Decker". The assistant ran to the maintenance room where he retrieved a De Walt drill usually used on operations of a more mundane type.
The boy was placed under anaesthetic and the good doctor duly operated under the guidance of a specialist neurosurgeon via phone.
His anaesthetist said afterwards:
"It was pretty scary. You obviously worry, are you pushing hard enough or pushing too hard, but then when some blood came out after we'd gone through the skull, we realised we'd made the right decision"
The boy was subsequently airlifted to a bigger town, with proper facilities, where he made a full recovery. Dr Carson went back to his normal work in the community but said modestly:
"If you are in that situation, you just do those things. It is just part of the job and I had a very good team of people helping me."
Isn't it heartening to know there are still good, honest, professional people in the world, who are not obsessed with claiming back the cost of a pork pie or justifying the purchase of the biggest plasma telly?
If only we could persuade him to enter the world of UK politics!
Following yesterday's witch hunt in the Commons, the Speaker, Michael Martin, has now announced he will be leaving his post on June 21st.
It will be interesting to see, who will be put forward as his replacement, as it seems that very few politicians are able to 'walk tall' while still claiming a clear conscience.
One can only wonder where the spotlight will settle next in the Parliamentary blame game but there is one thing that no MP needs for a while and that is a General Election!
All change!!
"We all bear a heavy responsibility for the terrible damage to the reputation of this House. We must do everything we possibly can to regain the trust and confidence of the people."
These words by Michael Martin, Speaker of the House of Commons, were part of his 'apology' this afternoon to a packed Chamber of MPs and could not have contained more truth.
Martin bears a large amount of responsibility for the present crisis in Parliament, after leading the fight to keep details of MPs' expenses secret, We should not, however, forget it was the large number of those who stood listening to him this afternoon and who were supporting calls for him to step down from office, who have actually been exposed for being up to their necks in the pot of gold.
Their response to the present situation is predictable; find a scapegoat and divert the public's attention away from their individual wrongdoing. We must not let that happen.
The culture of excessive claiming has been propogated by MPs of all parties, over a number of years; it is a culture born from greed. They should all have demonstrated better judgement but, instead, they thought of it as their right. It was, therefore, in all their interests to back the Speaker's attempts to block publication of their dubious claims. They are, collectively, responsible for their present circumstances.
That is why it is unfair to try to focus blame and claim a lack of confidence in just one man.
If they really want to do everything possible to regain the trust and confidence of 'the people', they should do the honourable thing and, as one, fall on their individual swords!
When was the last time you made the 'mistake' of forgetting you had paid off your mortgage? To most sane people it would sound ridiculous.
Not so, apparently, to ex-Labour minister Elliot Morley, who has been exposed by the Telegraph as yet another greedy MP fleecing the public purse with his expenses.
He has claimed a staggering £16,000 on a mortgage he was no longer paying and the best bit...he says he had not even realised!
Like many before him, he is saying the claim had been a "mistake" and it was due to "sloppy accounting" on his part.
Unfortunately, unlike many of his colleagues, he will not be able to use the excuse he has done nothing wrong and was just obeying the rules.
After suspending him from the Parliamentary Labour Party, his boss, prime minister, Gordon Brown, stated:
"If there are any other disciplinary cases where we have to take action we will take action immediately."
We can only hope the action taken, will be to call in the police to investigate what appears to be a 'mistake' of the fraudulent type and that Mr Morley will not experience such 'sloppy accounting' when the judge passes sentence!
Another day of revelations about MPs and their shameful and excessive expense claims.
Opposition Leader, David Cameron, is claiming to be "appalled" at the stories and is insisting that members of his party, who have been named and shamed, must pay the money back or risk being expelled from his party.
One of the most entertaining moments of the day, however, must be the on-air battle between BBC news anchor, Carrie Grace and Labour peer Lord Foulkes who is a close ally of the much criticised Commons Speaker, Michael Martin.
Watch it yourself and decide who comes out on top!
Instead of hanging their heads in shame, as most of us would do, Members of Parliament - from all parties - have defended their over excessive use of the parliamentary expenses system, by saying they have done nothing wrong and have only claimed what is allowable under the rules.
Some have said a half hearted "sorry" but whether they are "sorry" for what they have done, or they are "sorry" for being found out, we will probably never know.
Of course, some would call them corrupt but in legal terms they are not. Morally, though, they are guilty of corrupting and abusing a system that has relied on common sense and trust, knowing there was little effective scrutiny of their sometimes laughable claims.
The Daily Telegraph has been justified in releasing such details to an increasingly angry public.
MPs, however, do not agree and are requesting that the police investigate the leak of such sensitive and damaging information.
It would have been far better for the politicians, if the details had not been made public until the long weeks of their summer recess from Parliament. They could then have been sunning themselves on exotic beaches, or spending time in their 'second home' hideaways and inaccessible to the media. They would have hoped that by the time Parliament had reconvened, the story would have been long forgotten.
Several MPs have even dared to suggest they are entitled to such large expenses because they are paid a low salary for what they do. Those of us who are working for less than £68,000 per year, before allowances are added into the equation, might not agree.
Several of them have even had the arrogance to comment, that if they were working for private corporations they would be paid a lot more than they are presently being paid. My answer to that is go and get a job in the private sector - if you can - after all, you must be working very hard to be able to afford the time to claim for a bar of chocolate and similar!!
Whatever argument they use in attempting to justify their claims, the fact remains that while cancer patients are being refused life prolonging drugs because there is no available budget and pensioners cannot afford to heat their meagre homes, MP's are milking the public purse for all they can get, while they claim for every luxury imaginable.
I have been writing on this subject for almost two years and the temptation is to be very angry with the latest revelations. That is not the answer. The best way to express our contempt is to remove them all from Parliament at the first available opportunity.
The way things are going, we should not have too long to wait!!
Foreign Office Minister, Gilliam Merron, has been forced to reveal that the government holds a staggering 39,500 bottles of wine, spirits and liqueurs worth around £792,000 in the parliamentary cellars.
Maybe, it was because they needed the additional storage space, that they sold all of our gold reserve at bottom of market prices and why PM Gordon Brown looks like he is permanently suffering from the mother of all hangovers.
It seems when it comes to the social lives of politicians, we are once again buying the round!
Only two weeks ago,Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, was embarrassed by the revelation that her expenses had included compensation for pay-per-view adult films watched by her husband.
Yesterday, a link from her department's Home Office website had to be removed, after it was discovered that it was connected to....wait for it.....a porn site!!
The discovery was made by a journalist who was trying to unearth more about the regulations which come into force today, obliging internet service providers to record details of emails and internet phone calls. He contacted the BBC.
The Home Office said the original link had been taken over by a new company.
It does, however, pose a more serious question. If the Home Office cannot keep track of a simple link on their own website, how are they going to be able to keep track of all the personal details in their databases, associated with the proposed introduction of identity cards?
In the words of one of the Home Secretary's predecessors , is the Home Office really "fit for purpose"?
