It’s been fascinating to see what some MPs have been claiming for. Chandeliers, horse manure, dog food, lawn mowers, barbecues, light bulbs and so many ‘flipping’ second homes that we lose count.
MPs need to be reimbursed for the inevitable cost of working in two places – their constituencies and the House of Commons. But the present system is broken and needs to be replaced. There are really only two options here – one is to have a fixed allowance for a second home and that can be spent on a mortgage, rent, hotel room or whatever, and the other is to have (as the armed forces do) set accomodation that they can live in at no cost.
One of the most amazing things in this whole fiasco is that MPs seem to think that no-one would find out. In this age of citizen media those who are paid by the public must expect it. And Speaker Martin was entirely blinkered in seeking to castigate whoever spilled the beans, rather than those whose dubious actions meant the beans were worth spilling.
Many of our MPs seem to need clear and strategic PR advice, the one thing, ironically, that they haven’t bothered to claim for.