Sharpe's Opinion
Monday, 30th Mar, 2009
Nick Robinson appears to be trying to drum up some sympathy for poor Jackie Smith, the farce of a minister.
To many MPs, she’s a likeable working mum who didn’t expect to be elected in ’97; whose husband agreed to sacrifice his career to make hers possible; who works such long hours that she spends more days away from her family than with it and who knows that she’s on course to lose her very marginal seat and thus, her job, income and allowances, at the next election.
To many voters she’s a minister ‘on the take’ who is not satisfied with a fat salary, a chauffeur and two homes but also claims more by employing her husband, calling her family home her second home and submitting bills for porn films.
It’s perfectly possible to be an honest working mum, though. I can’t have sympathy for somebody who earns a wage of over £150,000 and yet claims her personal home internet access and cable TV bill from the taxpayer on top of their wage.
There are thousands of people are facing uncertainty about their future, and few of them will be expecting the ‘golden parachute’ we hand to MPs who lose their offices. Like Eric Pickles’ load-of-rubbish assertion that he needs to claim a second home because otherwise he’d have to commute in to London, Jackie Smith is just displaying plain greed and deserves not one iota of sympathy. In fact, she deserves more humiliation.
Comments
MPs’ expenses do need to be brought under control. And I believe that as taxpayers, we have a right to know exactly what we are paying for. (Of course, making MPs’ expenses claims totally public would go a long way towards eliminating the worst extravagances. How would you feel about presenting an expenses claim for “pr0n” to your boss?)
And instead of paying a second home allowance, why can’t we build some cheap and cheerful, council-type homes in London that MPs can use when not in their constituencies? Of course (as with any new properties, really), these should be built to Passivhaus specifications, so we don’t have to pay to heat the streets. (We might even be able to get some EU grant money to pay for this, if it can be dressed up as an eco-project.)
“I can’t have sympathy for somebody who earns a wage of over £150,000 and yet claims her personal home internet access and cable TV bill from the taxpayer on top of their wage. “
And the £9 camellia. And the £0.88p plug too.
I bet that Internet got used mostly for porno too.
James Printer
March 30, 2009 at 12:04 pm