I don't have any problem with the idea of MP's receiving expenses. Most companies in the private sector operate similar schemes for staff travelling on business or working away from their home base for any length of time. Its the manipulation of the rules I find distasteful, moving the location of your second home to decorate two properties, selling them on and avoiding CGT etc.

Problem with most of the MP's as I see it, is that they don't actually have relevant skills, qualifications and real world experience in the post they occupy. Being an MP should not even attract a salary in my opinion, it should be something that a person is drawn to when they have achieved at the highest level in their chosen field, be it in the business world, sport, entertainment, music, the armed forces, academia etc etc. This might see a pool of talent that could be deployed effectively around the various ministries, rather than someone managing health one year and transport the next and so on all the while adding no value to the post.

That'd be great, but even more optamistic than my post i think and i was thinking mine was a bit too unrealistic!

i was thinking of standing at the next election on a come clean independent ticket, being born and bred here in salford i think i would do a good job.

As an aside i passed Salford shopping city today and the BNP had a big tall there, renting from Salford Council, how low will this lot go to get money?

Well as they've sold everything for pennies, other than rob the council tax payer even more how else can they raise funds

`A survey for the political website PoliticsHome last night found that Miss Blears is now seen as the 'sleaziest' MP in Westminster. The poll of 100 Westminster insiders found she has the most questions to answer about her expenses.

It is another sign of the Prime Minister's weakening authority, however, that cabinet allies are warning him any attempts to demote Miss Blears could backfire spectacularly.

With Labour plummeting in the polls, there is speculation that Mr Brown's enemies are plotting a leadership challenge in a desperate attempt to avoid a wipeout by the Conservatives at the next general election.

Miss Blears is considered a popular figure among Labour MPs for her good humour and fierce loyalty to the party.

One senior Labour MP, who is close to Mr Brown, said: 'Gordon would be very foolish to sack Hazel. She is very ambitious and would be a very dangerous person to have on the back benches.'

this is how it is ,,, get elected to parliment , rob £13, 000 and when it comes on top pay it back , saying heres a cheque ,


AND LETS ALL VOTE LABOUR




IT ALL STINKS AND WHEN THE GREENS OR UKIP GET PEOPLE VOTES THEY WILL ASK WHY , WHO IS TAKING THE PASS?????????????


they are soloution DONT VOTE

Someone stealing at work would not be able to just pay it back and carry on merrily. Neither will these MPs.

What has happened is the biggest recruitment incentive for extremist parties such as the Greens/BNP, which is why as many should back the UKIP as possible.

But UKIP are as sleazy as the rest - One MEP elected at the last Euro vote under the ukip banner was later jailed for benefit fraud, another has been charged with money laundering - Source The Observer - Andrew Rawnsley's column

Lord Acton was right "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"

He was thrown out immediately. Tell me another party that has stamped down as fast.

No party is perfect, as they are made unfortunately enough of people, but UKIP will get u out of the ugly EU mess that steals £40,000,000 off us every day.

Power need only corrupt if those checking it turn a blind eye.

Lets all lobby our so called MPs and tell them that they actually work[for us and not the other way around .

If you actually look at the expenses Hazels are a lot less than some of the others condeming her, she never claimed the £13,000 just didn't pay capital gains tax at the time. Let he with out sin cast the first stone, I have a mate who was roundly condeming her for this but he too sold a house he was renting out because he didn't live there but didn't let on to the taxman and saved himself £20,000 in CGT.
What annoys me is Bandwagon lets get rib of all thgis sleaze and have a general Election now, because he knows that the Tories would get in. I say any Current MP who has made any dodgy claims should not be allowed to stand at the next election and that would get rid of 400 of them including all the current party leaders.

The UKIP aren't much better than the BNP, really.

As for not voting... Well, that's not going to change anything, is it?

Pev I enjoy some of your humourous posts and presume this is another. Even Bottler Brown thinks her behaviour is unacceptable. She has let all constituents down and badly too with her crafty Capital Gains Tax planning. She`s just been rumbled thats all - so has Hogg with his Moat - they`ve all been caught with their hands in the till. They are unelectable - no matter which party you support - they are all guilty and should be brought to book and all sacked. Bring back Cromwell from the grave.

Actually, rather than bring back Cromwell, I'd put forward two ideas of his contemporaries:

1. No one can be elected to parliament for two consecutive terms. This would stop politics from being a career for the mediocre like it is today.

2. Like jury service, no lawyers can stand for parliament. Then we could have avoided, to name but a few: Thatcher, Michael Howard, Anthony Blair, Leon Brittan, Hazel Blears...

These ideas were far too sensible to be adopted in the more honest days of 1647, so I guess they've no chance of being taken up today.

I wonder if she'll be making an appearance at the game on Friday ?

wearing a false beard

And a red wig?

And a big false smile

hope she hasnt got a turban on and carrying a rucksack , god i would be scared

She should fall on her own sword.
Blears ruffled the big chiefs feathers a couple of weeks back and he needs someone to come down on. The MP for Luton North wont be enough for the party members so me thinks her days are numbered.

See these are now paling into insignificance compared to one Tory £87,000 fiddled over 4 years.

Lets start a Forever Reds party and move Parliament north, could put it in Media City loads of cheap space and accomodation there for the MPs.

Well, if the BBC are moving to Salford...

She`s gawn

et tu bruti

Shouldn't that be et tu brute ? or do you know more (and better) latin than me?