ORDINARY people are struggling to pay their mortgage and wondering whether they will still have a job this time next week.
Yet MPs have spent the last few days rowing over their £24,000 second home allowance and even mooting a £40,000 pay rise.
The debate over MPs’ expenses is a long-running one, but it hit the headlines again this week after it was revealed that employment minister Tony McNulty claimed £60,000 in expenses for his parents’ home.
It’s been argued that Britain’s elected representatives really do live in a different world to the rest of us – and the hardworking people of Dorset are, understandably, not too happy about it.
“It’s disgusting,” Paul West, a 41-year-old fruiterer from Lower Parkstone, told us.
“MPs get paid enough. When normal people are struggling to afford to keep their first home, they should not be claiming expenses for a second home.
“They are exploiting loopholes and it needs to be seriously looked at.”
Danni Della, 51, a newspaper seller from Charminster, added: “At the moment it is not the right time to ask for a salary increase.
“They earn enough money without expenses. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to live in the real world.”
Cyril Swansbory, a 76-year-old community volunteer, called for more “integrity and honesty”.
“If they are not honest with their expenses then the public think they have something to hide,” he said.
Eillene Sedgwick, a housewife from Moordown, said a review was needed and her husband John, a bus driver, agreed.
“If you become an MP it seems to be a free ride on the money train,” he said.
“We need a review of expenses now, not later.”
MPs currently earn a basic wage of £63,291. Among other expenses, they have a second home allowance enabling them to claim £24,000 a year for mortgage interest payments, utility bills and similar expenses.
Some MPs have suggested scrapping the allowance in favour of a pay rise which would take their salary up to more than £100,000.
But our local representatives insist they are not among the greedy ones.
Annette Brooke, Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, co-sponsored a motion to scrap second-home allowances for MPs living in or around London.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” she said.“I feel particularly angry about this.
“The actions of a few have brought all MPs into disrepute. I think it’s bad for democracy and people lose faith in the political system.
“Some help for housing is vital for somebody like me who can’t commute.
“I come from an ordinary background, I don’t have a second job and I couldn’t afford to be an MP.
“I think the principle that anybody should be able to be an MP is really important.”
Desmond Swayne, Tory MP for New Forest West, said the situation was “disastrous”.
“I think the whole thing is ghastly,” he added.
“In this country we consent to be governed and we consent to be taxed because we trust those who govern us and tax us.
“If that trust disappears, and it has, then people will start to lose faith in the democratic process and history tells us that is more likely to happen in times of economic stress.”
Mr Swayne said it was “nonsense” to suggest that allowances should be scrapped in favour of an increased salary.
“My constituents are suffering considerably at the moment. It would be considerably unjustifiable for their elected representative to place an even greater burden on them as taxpayers.”
Sir John Butterfill, Tory MP for Bournemouth West, agreed a “clean-up” was needed.
But he said only a minority were “fiddling” their expenses and that MPs’ pay had gone up by less than inflation every year for the last 11 years.
Jim Knight, Labour representative for South Dorset, also called for a review, but insisted the allowance was necessary for him to do his job.
“We are elected by constituents to be members of Parliament – that means going to Parliament in London and there are costs associated with that,” he said.
“I pay for the interest on a mortgage for a flat in London that I use for most of the week in order to do my job for my constituents in Dorset.”
Who claimed what?
- Annette Brooke (Lib Dem, Mid Dorset and North Poole), £125,392
- Sir John Butterfill (Con, Bournemouth West), £129,379
- Chris Chope (Con, Christchurch), £138,436
- Tobias Ellwood (Con, Bournemouth East), £124,884
- Jim Knight (Lab, Dorset South), £137,970
- Desmond Swayne (Con, New Forest West), £91,737
- Robert Syms (Con, Poole), £129,034
- Robert Walter (Con, North Dorset), £132,729
Source: TheyWorkForYou.com
