According to some reports, three Labour backbench MP’s have been put on ‘suicide watch’ by Labour whips and four ministers have apparently hinted they might have to resign. What on earth could cause such a state of affairs?
It’s the possible publication of MP’s expense claims that is causing the problem, these members fearful of the consequences after people find out the’ve been up to no good and on the fiddle.
There has been much made of various dubious expense claims by the likes of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and the claiming for running second homes when these properties have, in fact, been rented out.
Mr Bean does, at long last, seem to be becoming a little beleagured. He has suffered a humiliating defeat regarding his proposed disgraceful treatment of Ghurka soldiers and has also had his knee-jerk proposal for an ‘attendance allowance’ for MP’s flatly rejected.
And he can’t be too happy that an e-petition on the official 10 Downing Street website asking him to ‘resign’ has gathered 33,000 signatures in just one week!
For attending work and carrying out the duties related to that particular job, Mr Public is remunerated by means of a wage or salary. He generally has only one source of income, does not have his mortgage interest paid for him and cannot, generally, get his company to pay for the latest state of the art plasma tv for his home.
So why should an MP be paid (again) just for turning up for work? Isn’t that what a job is about, turning up and doing the work?
If Mr Public was on the fiddle, defrauding his company, living the life of Reilly (or Riley, some say), fiddling benefits or whatever, he would, at the very least, be sacked.
There can be very little difference between someone knowingly making false claims for state benefits for pecuniary gain and an MP knowingly making false expense claims for pecuniary gain. Both are fiddling the taxpayer when all is said and done.
It is time that MP’s became accountable to the public, and not just to themselves.