MP expenses system I don't get it

I'm sorry but I don't understand, Is this expenses system really that complicated to complete? Why are MP's finding it so difficult to complete their expenses? Many people in business manage this every day of their lives.

I imagine MP's may have a point over how difficult this new system might be. I don't know I haven't seen it in operation. Maybe I will ask my MP in our meeting next Tuesday.

In the mean time the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has launched a public consultation and they are asking you for for views on the rules governing MPs' expenses. A consultation document list the questions on the scheme raised by MPs and others. The closing date for the consultation is 11 February.

You can sent suggestions to: schemeconsultation@parliamentarystandards.org.uk. Mark with 'Consultation response'. I have suggested that training could be the key as well as online documentation.

They also have a short online survey.  Theres also a public pole see the results.

Maybe we can fix it for them.

MacKay asked to apologise but will he?

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards John Lyon has today has today said that "Mr Mackay's decision to claim that the property in Bromsgrove was his main home was a serious misjudgement which was sustained over more than 12 years." he also added, "Mr Mackay should have recognised that it was not right, or defensible, to come to an arrangement which he knew would mean that parliamentary allowances would be used to cover costs incurred on both his homes."

 

Mackay and his wife Julie Kirkbride (MP for Bromsgrove constituency) have paid back £29,243 each earlier this year after Mackay claimed £1,000 a month for their flat in Westminster and Julie Kirkbride who claimed £900 a month for their house in Bromsgrove. Meaning that the couple had no main home. i.e no home that they were not claiming against and paying for themselves.

 

The committee concluded that Mr MacKay should now apologise in writing and that if he had still been an MP, he would have been suspended and would have had to appologies to the house.

 

Andrew Mackay of course still believes that he has done nothing wrong. So I'm not expecting to see an apology. but If he does I will publish it in full on this blog.

 

Readers should be reminded that Andrew Mackay is now working for the lobbying division of the Burson-Marsteller and Julie Kirkbride is now working for lobbying company Tetra Strategy.

 

It's not right is it Andrew? Please can you apologies to the people of Bracknell and recognise that what you did was wrong!

 

 

If you need a reminder of the events leader to Andrew Mackay resignation then please have a read my blog here.

Todays link is to Get Bracknell which carries the above story 'Ex-MP Andrew MacKay told to apologise over expenses'

Taxpayers Fund MP's facing criminal charges

I was just driving home when I heard on the radio that the three Labour MPs facing criminal charge (Devine, Chaytor and Morley) are to get legal aid to defend their case.

Conservative leader David Cameron said "Granting legal aid to the MPs was a complete outrage". Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said "People will be dismayed that former MP s are going to get legal aid in their expenses cases". I could not agree more. Using tax payers money for people who are wealthy and given the outrage in the public on the expenses scandle could not be timed worse for Labour.

Apparently this can only be done at some courts like Southwark Crown Court because means testing is being phased in for all the Crown Court's in England and Wales. So People can pick and choose which court to use based on which one offer legal aid, how is this right? Why not introduce this too all courts and not phase it in. The "interests of justice" test began to be phased out in January and replaced by a means test for all Crown Court cases in England and Wales but Southwark Crown Court is not yet part of the new scheme. So it did not apply to the MPs simply because the case is at Southwark Crown Court.

If conviced (this could mean a 7 year prison sentence) the judge can ask for these fee to be paid back. However this does not happen often from what I understand. I hope if conviced the judge will ensure this is paid back to the public purse.

News Flash Andrew Mackay Repayment

Here is an extract from Sir Thomas Legg Report.

''Rt Hon Andrew Mackay MP
Bracknell
Mr Mackay is married to another MP. He designated his London flat as his second home, while his wife nominated it as her main home. He designated his constituency home as his main home while his wife nominated it as her second home. This meant that, between them, the couple had no main home which was not funded by the ACA. Throughout the five years of the review period, they both claimed at or close to the full allowance to support their two homes. These arrangements obtained a financial benefit for the couple which appears unintended under the Green Book rules, and as such contrary to the principles governing it. Had they made different
designations, each MP might reasonably have claimed up to two-thirds of the full allowance on a shared second home. On this footing, each of them was overpaid by one-third of the maximum ACA for each year of the review period. This is £29,243.

He was also paid £9,950 for cleaning over the four years 2004-05 to 2007-08, thus
exceeding the allowable maximum by a total of £1,950.'

Total repayment recommended: £31,193.00
Total repayments received since 1 April 2009: £31,193.00
Balance recommended to be repaid: £0.00

So Andrew Mackay has made a payment, it is at the higher end of other MP's repayments. However many believe he should pay more (£170,000) see here

His wife, Julie Kirkbride, MP for Bromsgrove, has also been asked to pay back £29,243.

What I find amazing about this is that both MacKay and his wife have appealed against these claims, they failed. Does this not prove that they infact believe that their claim was not false?

The full report can be read here

Goodbye Andrew Mackay also reports here

Andrew Mackay’s 2nd Home Boiler and Redecoration Claim

Andrew Mackay’s MP 2008/2009 allowances/expenses have now been published, they make interesting reading.

Bracknell’s MP Andrew MacKay resigned as parliamentary adviser to David Cameron and is due to step down at the next general election. This is after the revelations that Andrew Mackay and his wife, fellow Tory MP for Bromsgrove, Julie Kirkbride (who may now stand again in an open primary).


Andrew Mackay claimed a second home allowance of £12,000 a year in mortgage interest for their joint flat near Westminster. This was while his wife used her expenses to pay off a similar loan for their family home in her Bromsgrove. This was over a period of eight years.

Click on the pictures above to view them.

Interestingly I noticed these payments for a claim of £6,000 for redecoration, made up of £3,400 for paint to stonework, cleaning railings and paint for woodwork which didn’t include scaffolding of an additional £2,600. A new boiler was also claimed for £2,600. All this on a home where the payments should have been paid back to the taxpayer.



Andrew Mackay’s MP 2008/2009 allowances/expenses can be viewed from the Parliamentary website here.

Why Are So Many MP's Not Replying To Letters

I have been in contract with a number of IT workers in pursuit of a developing story which I will report on later (needless to say it’s related to the Lloyds story here). There has been a concerted effort by a large number of IT contractors who have been sending letters and information off to MP's of all parties, I have also send a few emails to MP’s on their behalf myself.

I know that MP's can be famous for not replying and I can understand if it’s an issue that is already being dealt with or if you’re a constant pest. But I have been surprised by how many MP's do not reply at all.

No MEP's replied apart from a UKIP MEP who simply replied with a standard email from Nigel Farage which told the reader that his party does not have the money and is not as big as the other main parties and therefore could not examine the email and then went on to list the beliefs of the UKIP party. Do MEP’s not have any staff I wonder they get an allowance of €185k for staff.

Andrew Mackay (MP for one of the IT workers as well as my MP) did reply at first but it all went very quite after he decided to stand down after the second home scandal. So far Steve Webb MP of the Libdems has replied but only to pass the information on to John Thurso's MP on 20th October and I have not heard anything else. Even a reply to say the email was received would have been something. Perhaps they do not have enough staff again. However this sort of thing does make people believe that our politicians are simply un-contactable and I’m starting to agree. Luckily I can speak to MP's myself at conferences but this is not the case for the general public and I will have a long wait till the next conference.

So what’s wrong with the system? Is going to the surgery the only way to get hold of your MP? Perhaps. But I do wish others and myself could get some sort of reply, otherwise MP’s will continue to appear distant from their voters.

MEP allowances fact file from the times here

Reaction to Andrew MacKay's meeting in Bracknell last night

Some of the writers on this blog were amongst the 400 or so constituents who attended the public meeting Andrew MacKay called last night.

During the meeting Mr MacKay stated his intention to put himself forward for reselection to his local party and that he wishes to stand again in Bracknell for the next General Election.

The feeling in the hall was very angry towards him and at least 80% of the comments were very negative towards him. There were many accusations put to him about his second homes claim and the ill feeling often spilled over into heckling and shouting with strong words used against him.

However on the media afterwards, Mr MacKay was trying to claim that the feeling of the meeting was with him and that 75% percent or more of the audience were with him. I am afraid that does not reflect the way I saw the meeting from where I was sitting. Watch this clip from BBC News where Mr MacKay is being interviewed by BBC South's Political Editor Peter Henley:

The gentlemen who interrupts Mr MacKay during the interview is absolutely right. He was misrepresenting the view of the meeting and another voice off camera later on points out that despite calls from the floor, the Chair of the meeting (David Osborn, the former Rector of Bracknell) refused to take a show of hands to gauge support towards the end.

In this piece from Sky News, Victoria Gatenby says that is is disingenuous for him to claim that he had the support of the meeting and that support is ebbing away from him, even amongst Conservative activists and that the feeling is he is unlikely to be reselected:

There has been further reaction to this story across the media and internet. Here are some that we have come across:

Here is the BBC News report on the meeting.

John Hicks from Radio Bracknell in a detailed and balanced review of the meeting thinks that the reaction within the hall may have signalled the beginning of the end for Bracknell's MP.

An article in the The Independent about the meeting and its aftermath quotes one of the comments from the floor that I also recall: "I have no wish to be represented by a thief".

This thread on the Conservative Home website (a site for Conservative grassroots activists) demonstrates the depth of Mr MacKay's problems. The majority the more than 40 comments at the end of the blog post are saying that he should stand down or be sacked.

Peter Henley, the BBC South Political Editor (who is an excellent and prodigious user of Twitter) tweeted this morning: "Tories saying MacKay is toast after last night. But spinning that Cameron wants to get in clean skins".

Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. If you attended the meeting, perhaps you could detail your recollections of what happened.

UPDATE: I have also done a more detailed review of the meeting at my own blog "Mark Reckons" here.

We want your questions for Bracknell MP Andrew MacKay

Andrew MacKay who has been caught up in the scandal about MPs expenses primarily for him and his wife between them claiming for two second homes has called a public meeting in Bracknell this Friday 22nd May at 7:00pm at the Kerith Centre in Bracknell. It is a ticket only event and you need to call 01344 868286 or e-mail bracknellca@tory.org. The full details and map link are here.

We are interested in knowing what questions people would like asked or views you would like expressed during this meeting. Some of us who post on Bracknell Blog are attending the meeting. We have questions of our own but are also happy to try and put questions to him from people who cannot attend the meeting.

Please let us know in the comments below and we will do our best.

UPDATE: We now have a post reviewing the meeting and detailing reaction from the media and the internet here.