Norman Baker Suffers Double Blow
Iain Dale 10:41 AM
Norman Baker, the LibDem MP for Lewes who has been at the forefront of criticism of MPs over expenses claims, has today come under fire in his local newspaper, the Brighton Argusfor claiming £7,500 rent for his parliamentary office - a building which he owns.An MP who led criticism of Parliamentary expenses has admitted claiming about £20,000 from the taxpayer to rent an office he already owned. Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, claimed the cash to rent a constituency office in the building he had bought as his own home.
The 51-year-old has become a regular “talking head” on news programmes in recent days and repeatedly condemned the extravagant expenses claims which have outraged the nation this week.
His political opponents last night branded him a hypocrite after details emerged of his arrangement to claim money to rent the office space at the house he owned in High Street, Lewes.
Mr Baker said yesterday he had checked he was not breaking any rules before buying the house and making the claims. He said he had claimed roughly £7,500 a year for about three years after buying the house for £310,000 in September 2000.
He told The Argus: “I was entitled to claim money from the taxpayer for the rent of an office to carry out my parliamentary office.”...
Julian Lewis, a Conservative MP who crossed swords with Mr Baker when the Liberal made comments to a national newspaper in a story about Mr Lewis's expenses claims, said: “It is utter hypocrisy.”
Jason Sugarman, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Lewes, said: “We need to clean up politics and that means everybody needs to be transparent and clear. He is tarred with the same brush as the MPs he criticises.”
In The Daily Telegraph, which has published fresh revelations about MPs' claims every day since last week, Mr Baker was yesterday reported to have had claims turned down for a bicycle and a computer at the London home he rents.
He also claimed hundreds of pounds for food in periods when the House of Commons was not sitting. He told The Argus: “It is standard practice right across business that when you're away from your home you claim subsistence.” ...
He wrote in a national newspaper on Monday: “The basic problem is this: claims for expenses should reflect expenditure legitimately and necessarily incurred by a Member of Parliament as part of his or her duties – no more, no less. Instead, they have been used by too many MPs as an alternative income stream, as a way of bumping up salary without having to vote through an embarrassing increase. The standard defence trotted out is that everything done has been within the rules. But that does not make it ethically correct, not least because those rules have been written by MPs themselves.”
I don't know if this is related to Mr Baker's behaviour but a leading LibDem Councillor in Baker's constituency, Robert Robinson, the former mayor of Newhaven, is today defecting to the Conservatives. This is quite a coup as Lewes Council is very tight electorally.BREAKING NEWS: Andrew MacKay Resigns
Iain Dale 10:12 AM
Quote of the Day: Elliott Morley
Iain Dale 10:11 AM
Mr. Morley The link between quality of life and crime is an important issue for the police. Sometimes, the police think that low-level nuisance crime is not a priority and that they should concentrate on more serious crime. They should be doing that, but cracking down on low-level, antisocial, nuisance crime, including environmental crime, will deter more serious crime. Sometimes, some individual forces do not think that through, and we need to have that debate.
Elliot Morley MP Westminster Hall Debate on Environmental Crime 13 Jan 2005 : Column148WHIt's Not Just the Politicians Who Are To Blame
Iain Dale 10:00 AM
What I would like to know is why on earth the House of Commons Fees Office allowed £16,000 of our money to be used on a claim with no backup paperwork? Talk about a system not fit for purpose. Anyone would think it was a division of the Home Office.
The trouble is that Fees Office staff have been instructed by the House of Commons senior clerks to continue their habit of being deferential to MPs and assuming that they are all "Honourable Members". This comes from the top. Time after time they have given MPs the benefit of the doubt on expenses claims.
It is not just the Speaker of the House of Commons who is responsible, but all those at the top of the House of Commons management structure. We may all want to see some political scalps from this, but we shouldn't ignore the fact that heads should roll in the House of Commons itself.
Perhaps at last, this will be the spur for some much needed reforms, not just of the accounting structures but the whole way the Houses of Parliament is administered.
UPDATE: Gordon Brown says he is "very concerned" by the Elliott Morley revelations. Yes, I'm sure he is. But what is he going to do about it. Give a lead for once in his life? Or refer Morley to a committee.Iain Dale 9:00 AM
At the moment only 22 out of 196 Tory MPs do not spend any of their £10k allowance. If David Cameron wants to be consistent, he should make it a condition of holding the Conservative whip that from now on no MP is to use this allowance.
I can already hear some howls and screams, but it would be the right thing to do.The Speaker Will Soon Be Gone
Iain Dale 7:33 AM
Let me make a prediction. By the end of this month, Michael Martin will no longer be Speaker. Indeed, I'd almost be willing to bet that he will have stepped down by the end of next week. Douglas Carswell is doing a great job, but he needs to be joined by some courageous big beasts from across all the parties. If they come forward, he's toast. Newsnight polled 173 MPs about their views on his future. 58 said he should go, 67 said they had confidence in him and 53 wouldn't say. It's safe to say a majority of those 53 want rid of him. Those figures speak for themselves.
But he doesn't just need to go. He needs to go now. Saying he will stand down at the next election is not good enough. His successor, whoever it is, needs time to 'bed in' and get to grips with the crisis facing our Parliament at the moment.
And can we just put to one side the knee jerk reaction of some, that any criticism of Michael Martin is based on class snobbery. Is Douglas Carswell a snob? Gordon Prentice? Paul Flynn? Norman Baker? Kate Hoey? Richard Shepherd? Norman Lamb? I think not. I first ran into Michael Martin in 1991 when he chaired the Ports Privatisation Standing Committee. I saw him at first hand for about 10 hours a week over a month. I thought he was an incompetent Committee Chair then and I have seen nothing to make me change my mind.
The very integrity of parliament is at stake, and I am afraid he is the roadblock to reform. He needs to go and go now. And it's up to men and women of courage in Parliament to make sure that happens.
Later today I will run a new poll on who his successor should be. Feel free to make your nominations in the comments.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
BBC News is reporting that David Cameron's Parliamentary adviser Andrew MacKay has resigned his position over expenses claims...
Labour MP Elliott Morley claimed £16,000 for a mortgage which didn't exist. At best this could be construed as negligent. At worst it is fraudulent. Let's for a moment give him the benefit of the doubt and assume the former.
Yesterday at PMQs David Cameron reaffirmed the Conservative Party's pledge to abolish the Communications Allowance. Under this allowance, MPs spend £7 million each year telling us how wonderful they are. He is absolutely right to do make this pledge. However, I would urge him to go one step further.
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