Posts Tagged ‘westminster’
Some MP’s expenses are legitimate but are they worth it?
Danny Alexander LibDem MP
MP’s and their expenses are under ever greater scrutiny than ever before and rightly so. Some are legitimate expenses and others are bordering on outright fraud.
I found it interesting to note from the article in the Press and Journal the amount of expenses claimed by a number of Scottish MP’s which were well into the top 50 as far as amounts actually claimed.
Danny Alexander is among the highest expense claims of MP’s at Westminster. It led me to wonder if all that money for these MP’s was money well spent. While the likes of Danny Alexander claim a large geographical area as the reason for such huge expenses claimed we cannot forget the fact that its not all fares.
Not so long ago he was approached as were all the local parties to make a contribution to the Blythwood food bank appeal that was trying desperately hard to assist the poor who had no food to eat here in the Highland capital of Inverness and the surrounding area.
I had raised close to £1000 of food aid which had also come from donations from Conservative Party members and I had thought that a cross party effort would have gone a long way to helping those in need.
Danny refused to help and stated that he thought it more important to talk about the situation than to donate anything to it.
Ofcourse at that time few of us knew that every piece of food that Danny put in his mouth was paid for by the taxpayer from expenses he claimed. All legitimate ofcourse. At least as far as the law was concerned.
I am wondering what actual worth some of these MP’s actually bring though. Sure they can appear in the newspapers and opine on this and that on a regular basis.
Danny talks a lot but in my opinion and many others actions speak louder than words.
Are MP’s like Danny Alexander worth the investment ? With a bit of luck we will find out soon enough once people here in the Highlands look at the real worth of those who claim to be working so hard on our behalf.
Jim Ferguson
North and north-east members in top 50
Chairman of Scottish affairs committee was most expensive in 2009-10
Published: 05/02/2010
NINE MPs representing seats in the north and north-east were revealed last night to be among the 50 most expensive at Westminster in the last financial year.
The MP with the highest expenses for 2009-10 was Glasgow East Labour MP and Scottish affairs committee chairman Mohammed Sarwar, who is retiring at the general election – expected in May.
He racked up £192,986 in second homes allowance claims, travel expenses, office costs, computer costs and staff pay.
But his example was closely followed by MPs north of the central belt.
Moray MP Angus Robertson, ranked third most costly, last night defended his £188,164 claim. He said it was partly caused by the extra expense resulting from opening a second constituency office at Keith, and partly high travel costs.
He said: “Given the unpredictability of parliamentary schedules, weekly commuting arrangements often have to be made at short notice, which sadly adds to the travel costs.
“Constituents rightly expect you to attend to issues and events locally as well as with matters at Westminster on a weekly basis.”
He added: “The biggest cost saving from Westminster will come when Scotland is independent and we don’t need to send MPs there at all. I am focused on making that happen as quickly as possible.
At just £539 a year lower, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander, also blamed travel costs, driving round one of the biggest constituencies in the UK and commuting back and forth between Inverness and London.
Linlithgow and Falkirk East Labour MP Michael Connarty and Falkirk Labour MP Eric Joyce, at fourth and fifth, were only a few pence less.
Mr Joyce — frequently at or near the top of the expenses league — also cited travel between his home in Falkirk and London as the reason his expenses remain high, pointing out that MPs have to fly on expensive open tickets because they do not know their arrangements very far ahead.
Aberdeen North MP Frank Doran came in at No 12 in the table, claiming £182,139.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Lib Dem MP John Thurso, at No 22, claimed £178,689, Dundee West Labour MP Jim McGovern, 23, £178,597, and Gordon Lib Dem MP Malcolm Bruce, 24, £178,230.
Perth and North Perthshire SNP MP Pete Wishart was 34th with £175,896.
The cheapest was First Minister Alex Salmond, also SNP MP for Banff and Buchan, 533rd, but he rarely appeared in Westminster, claiming £131,316, mainly in staff costs. Western Isles SNP MP Angus MacNeil was 431st, claiming £141,583.
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