Allowancesgate: And still they claim!

January 24, 2008

Incredible as it may sound, some amongst Westminster’s “Honourable Members” are reportedly now demanding that they be provided with a special taxpayers’ funded allowance so that they may travel to “work” by taxi, so as to avoid travelling by the crowded Tube. This is because, according to the media, carrying heavy cases around on the Underground is too much for them!
This latest demand is but the latest in a series of claims by politicians calling for a dramatic increase in their benefits, in particular their salaries. Some “undervalued” MPs reportedly want their pay to jump from the present £64,000 to £100,000 per annum! Others are not quite as demanding and are, apparently, happy to settle for an increase of up to £25,000.
Ironically, the very people whose Government has insisted public services workers such as nurses and police, should not get an inflation-busting pay rise are themselves complaining that their pay has not kept pace with the inflation-busting pay of senior civil servants, company directors, senior police officers or local authority chief executives!
Not content with their already huge salaries, pensions, allowances and expenses, at least one MP is now arguing for a taxi allowance so MPs don’t have to use the Tube. Other MPs are demanded more funds to install panic buttons in their constituency offices (to protect them from irate taxpayers?), whilst others still, want more generous allowances for their office, staff, and car mileage.
And that’s not all!
It is further reported that some MPs, representing inner London constituencies, are said to be asking for their London allowance payments to be quadrupled to £11,350 per annum! And, do you know what? The overwhelming majority of MPs are refusing to disclose exactly what they are spending all the monies claimed in expenses and allowances on! Apparently, how they spend taxpayers’ money is their business, not the taxpayers.