On 10/10/2012 22:56, tim..... wrote:

"Tim Streater" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"tim....." wrote:

IMHO MPs should not be allowed with creaming the system to their own
advantage and as we know that some (most) can't be trusted to "do the
right thing" we need a system that stops them.

Could you explain what you mean by "creaming the system"? If you mean,
f'rinstance, that you disagree that they be allowed to claim for train
tickets to/from their constituency and London, you'll have to explain
why they should pay for them, any more than I would be expected to pay
for travel when I used to go Cambridge - London to meet our suppliers.

Of course they can claim genuine travel expenses [1].

But even if we allow second homes they should never have been allowed to
claim for improvements to those houses

It's not just the improvements, it's also the gains in the value of the
house while the taxpayer has been paying the mortgage and the capital
that has been paid off. What they should have done was buy a house for
them out of government funds (no mortgage payments) and sell the house
with all funds going back to the government when they cease to be MPs or
pass it on to a new MP.

They also shouldn't be allowed to keep anything that was bought for the
house or anything that is disposed of when new items are bought -
thinking furniture, electrical goods, kitchen items, etc.

I would however not object to them having SKY or similar (as many have
done in the past) as long as they are already paying for the same
service at home.

Gardening/cleaning services (tidying only, not producing stunning
display gardens!) are also fair as they have double the day to day
housework to do.

nor should they be allowed to
claim their "supermarket" shopping as their "away from main home" meal
as this isn't costing them any more then they would have paid if there
were at home.

It does cost more for two separate meals than for one larger meal for a
family. There should be a strict limit, similar to what a normal,
averagely paid, single person is likely to spend each day.

tim


[1] As actually incurred, none of this claim the 1st class fare and
travel 2nd class nonsense.

Quite right. Also they should not be able to claim expenses, untaxed
"company" cars or chauffeur driven cars for the journey from their
London residence to the House of Commons, office, etc. - the same as
normal employees can't claim for the journey to and from work.

SteveW