TaxPayers' Alliance Bulletin - 15 May 2009
Bring MPs to Justice
Dear TaxPayers' Alliance supporter,As you may have already seen today, the TPA - backed by the Daily Mail - is launching a campaign for private prosecutions of MPs who may have broken the law in their expenses claims. The expenses scandal that has been exposed in recent days by the Telegraph cannot be dismissed simply by apologies, excuses or the waving of repayment cheques. If any ordinary person had claimed expenses for costs that they had not really incurred or costs not actually needed for their job, they would be sacked and in all probability reported to the police.
We believe it is essential to democracy and justice, as well as the reputation of Parliament, that MPs who have behaved disgracefully are held to account. For those who have behaved immorally or broken the rules, we will be submitting a dossier of complaints to the Parliamentary authorities. For those who have failed to pay tax where we believe they should have done, we will be reporting their actions to the tax authorities. For those who appear to have broken the law - and there are already several who have been reported in the media - we intend to pursue them through the criminal courts.
It is for that reason that we have decided to start gathering support, legal advice and funds to bring private prosecutions against some Members of Parliament. We are delighted to have joined forces with the Daily Mail, who are adding their resources and the weight of their readers' support to the campaign. The reaction from the taxpaying public - who are sick to death of immoral MPs ripping taxpayers off and expecting to get away with it - has been overwhelming. We have had hundreds of new supporters, many generous donations to the fighting fund and a flurry of media appearances today alone, on top of the huge groundswell of support that we have received over the last week.This is undoubtedly a dark time for Parliament. It is sad that this scale of public outrage has been necessary to break through the coccoon of secrecy and arrogant denial that the Speaker, Michael Martin, and his cronies have tried to shelter in. Indeed, I wish that the Parliamentary authorities had come clean with taxpayers about the problem years ago when they were first asked - almost as much as I wish that these MPs had not decided to stick their snouts in the trough in the first place. Both the authorities and these offenders have harmed Parliament, democracy and those other MPs who have remained honest but are now enveloped in this scandal as a result of their colleagues' wrongdoing.
If we are ever to restore the public's faith in Parliament, and if those innocent MPs' names are ever to be cleared, then we need urgent change. First, taxpayers must at last be told the whole truth about MPs' expenses. Our petition, co-launched with transparency campaigner Heather Brooke, for full and immediate publication of MPs' expenses details has already attracted over 3,700 signatures. If you haven't yet signed, or haven't yet circulated it to your friends, colleagues and family, please do so.
When those details are made public, everyone will be able to see who claimed what and make up their own minds about whether their MP is innocent, greedy or potentially a law-breaker.
Next, those MPs who have broken the law must be brought to book. That is where the Bring Them To Justice campaign comes in. Any donations that you might be able to make to the cause are most welcome - please either send us a cheque or donate through our PayPal account, labelling your donation "Bring Them To Justice". Details of how to donate are here. Any contribution, large or small, is much appreciated and it will all help to bring them to justice.
Thank you once again for your kind support.
Matthew Elliott,
Chief Executive
The Stop the EU Rip Off campaign cleans upAfter the very successful launch of our Stop the EU Rip Off campaign slogan last week, this week the logo started to appear on the streets of cities around the country, including London, Birmingham and Manchester. Using an innovative - and entirely legal - technique, the design is being washed into dirty pavements to take the campaign's message direct to taxpayers nationally. Who knows, as well as communicating our message, they might even encourage councils to keep the streets a little cleaner in future! Keep a look out for the logo appearing near you through this and other media.
Get your free car sticker
Thank you to all those of you who requested our free Stop the EU Rip Off car window sticker after last week's bulletin. If you didn't order one last week, why not do so now? You can request a sticker simply by replying to this email with your name, postal address and the headline "EU Sticker".
Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire Branch
A group of keen supporters have stepped forward this week to set up a Hull and East Riding of Yorkshire branch to keep an eye on local politicians. If you would like to be put in touch with them, please email Tim Aker at tim.aker@taxpayersalliance.com
Protest in Harrogate
On Friday 22nd May we’ll be holding a demonstration in Harrogate against the Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrat plans for state funding of political parties by the back door. We’ll be meeting at Harrogate train station at 12 Noon. If you would like to come and join us please contact Tim Aker tim.aker@taxpayersalliance.com.
Protest in Harrogate
On Friday 22nd May we’ll be holding a demonstration in Harrogate against the Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrat plans for state funding of political parties by the back door. We’ll be meeting at Harrogate train station at 12 Noon. If you would like to come and join us please contact Tim Aker tim.aker@taxpayersalliance.com.
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