O/T. The Government's handling of Covid

[Andy_Faber]

There is the odd one that cheats on expenses, absolutely/ However, rather than look at "how much" they claim in expenses, why not look at "what it is spent on"?

Their annual expenses and a chart showing what it went on can be found at https://www.mps expenses.info/ (Thank you swear monitor - leave out the gap between mps and expenses) You go to the site, type in an MPs name and, voila, there's the info.

I give this info several times a year to folk posting on internet platforms/fora that xxxxxx the MP for Blabla North has claimed £147000 in expenses this year. At first sight it looks like the MP might be milking the system. Look at the figures and what the money has been used for and the vast majority of it will have gone on......

Rent for 2 offices. One in the constituency and one in London. Quite understandable and, IMO, acceptable.
Rent for a place to stay in London if their constituency isn't within a reasonable commute. Quite understandable and, IMO, acceptable.
Pay for staff in the 2 offices. Quite understandable and, IMO, acceptable.
Office supplies, gas, electric, water, rates etc for the 2 offices. Quite understandable and, IMO, acceptable.
Travelling expenses relevant to their work as an MP. Quite understandable and, IMO, acceptable.

Look at the facts and you will find that there is little to no "cheating" in expenses and that the vast majority of the claims are reasonable and justified.

Those that do claim for things they shouldn't ought to be removed from Parliament and by-election called in which they are no longer allowed to take part. They should also get charged with fraud.

All good points and some of the cases in the past have involved using family members who actually did no work etc, your analysis shows that the job of an MP is in effect a small business. Maybe some will be claiming for personal protection from now on

[Geoff Parkstone]

I think thats a fair assessment MA, although before the "expenses scandal" broke a few years ago, and the disclosures were less extensive, this may not have been true. As ever the few derailed the many with the "cheating" and of course it was sensationalised. To my mind the worst breach was selling their second home funded by the taxpayer and keeping the capital gain for themselves. I think the cat is out of the bag on that one now the

[ramAnag]

Would you opt into a job at 80k where you had a 1 in 600 chance of facing a mad **** with a blade?

IMO those who choose to cheat would still cheat whether an MP or not, and most of those who choose to be honest would not become cheats by being an MP. God knows why the uncorrupted ones stick it out to be honest

Andy you really are capable of the most staggering naivety at times.

Not sure where your 1-600 figure comes from and not down playing the murders of David Amess or Jo Cox for one moment, but people in infinitely more ordinary walks of life face physical attack on a much more regular basis.

Try being a bus driver, a taxi driver, an event steward, a policeman, a traffic warden, a nurse, a social worker or a teacher in today’s society.

Personally I’ve had to disarm pupils aiming to damage others with a variety of objects including screwdrivers, scissors, a house brick and a bicycle chain. I’ve been bitten and scratched to the extent that the police advised me to ‘press charges’. I didn’t in the circumstances. I’ve watched in disbelief as a disgruntled parent (mother) grabbed a colleague by the tie and cut it off with a pair of scissors for him having the audacity to be late back with her child from a school visit.

I see Dominic Raab complained of having received death threats. He’s not alone...I, and many others, have received them plenty of times from menacing thugs...yes sadly they can be parents too...sometimes in the confines of an office, sometimes, more worryingly, in the parent’s/child’s own environment.

Even my cousin...a hospital social worker in South Wales, who’s job was to ensure that those returning home after long term hospital care had the facilities they needed (i.e. a wholly helpful and supportive job) was threatened by a man wielding an electric saw when she visited one particular home.

Of course such anecdotes are not everyday occurrences but they are a great deal more commonplace than attacks on MP’s and are happening to people who, to the best of my knowledge, will not have earned anything close to the £80k plus expenses that MP’s receive.

[swaledale]

Would you opt into a job at 80k where you had a 1 in 600 chance of facing a mad **** with a blade?

IMO those who choose to cheat would still cheat whether an MP or not, and most of those who choose to be honest would not become cheats by being an MP. God knows why the uncorrupted ones stick it out to be honest

Oh come on, there are many occupations, most earning much less than £80K a year where there is a very high threat from members of the public, police, health workers, social workers being just 3 examples. Whilst a look at the rates of death and serious injury amongst agricultural and construction workers few of whom earn anywhere near £80K would suggest that the risk to MP's is being overblown because of two recent tragic incidents and that yes many people are willing to work in an environment where the risk of death or serious injury is high.

[Geoff Parkstone]

Curious that noone has mentioned being a member of the armed forces as being a job paying under 80k and carrying a danger of death or injury. I suppose that's because they are "paid to be killed" as opposed to having death as an occupational side-risk.

[ramAnag]

Curious that noone has mentioned being a member of the armed forces as being a job paying under 80k and carrying a danger of death or injury. I suppose that's because they are "paid to be killed" as opposed to having death as an occupational side-risk.

Or possibly because they enter an occupation fully aware of what the ultimate dangers are, and because those dangers don’t, on the whole, come from within our own society.

[Geoff Parkstone]

tell that to all those who died in Ulster

[ramAnag]

tell that to all those who died in Ulster

Indeed...which is why I wrote, ‘on the whole’...and, without being disrespectful, I’d imagine that those who opted to join the army had a much clearer idea of the dangers they were likely to face in NI than did ambulance operatives and the other groups mentioned amongst the mean streets of the UK mainland.

[Trickytreesreds]

Would you opt into a job at 80k where you had a 1 in 600 chance of facing a mad **** with a blade?

IMO those who choose to cheat would still cheat whether an MP or not, and most of those who choose to be honest would not become cheats by being an MP. God knows why the uncorrupted ones stick it out to be honest

Andy, not sure if you know this? But Prison officers can be started on as little as 16k a year and the chances of them having a blade ran through them are multiple times that of an MP.
Assaults happen daily, as does the mental intimidation. Offer one of them 80k a year and he/she would feel like a King for their job.

[Trickytreesreds]

tell that to all those who died in Ulster

Ulster? I can think of places a lot closer to home, starting with Lee Rigby and Hyde/Regents parks