Greedy MP's with snout in trough again

Oh, I get it, I get it very well.

It's just that I can't be bothered to get a good head of steam up about something that's been going on since time began and will carry on forever, probably.

What good does it do you?

Increased blood pressure and a frown and nothing's changed.

It could be worse, we could be conquered overnight by a middle eastern power which at the very least would mean your female offspring would have to quit uni and wear a veil and be tied to home washing dishes and stuff. By law.

Be thankful for our flawed system and enjoy your relative freedom.

And if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. All that being 100% straight does is make you feel (mistakenly) satisfied with yourself, keeps you on the bottom rung and gets you seething at life's injustices.

Anybody who would choose for a career to be a politician or lawyer, you know, you just know, is an open invitation to label them 'crooked'.

That the way it is folks, accept it or join it, moaning about it gets you - nowhere.
 
floppybootstomp said:
That the way it is folks, accept it or join it, moaning about it gets you - nowhere.
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It's only when enough people "moan" about things that changes come about. I think it's called democracy. I'm sure that the constant nationwide "moaning" has already started to bring about change in this case. If there had been no "moaning" then things would have stayed exactly as they were. At least it's out in the open now and new, hopefully better, rules will apply.


Anybody who would choose for a career to be a politician or lawyer, you know, you just know, is an open invitation to label them 'crooked'.
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There are good politicians and lawyers out there too.
 
I'm sure the nation will remember all the bad guys come election time.
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nivrip said:
Wrong !!!! It's only when enough people "moan" about things that changes come about. I think it's called democracy. I'm sure that the constant nationwide "moaning" has already started to bring about change in this case. If there had been no "moaning" then things would have stayed exactly as they were. At least it's out in the open now and new, hopefully better, rules will apply.
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Maybe, but I'm doubtful.

In my lifetime I've only seen one instance where public protests made a difference and that was the poll tax riots in Trafalgar Square where police officers were dragged from their horses and beaten.

Thatcher caved in and re-christened her poll tax 'Council Tax' and we're all still paying it so it didn't make a lot of difference really, it rarely does.

At the time I felt sympathy for the police officers but just lately with the Stockwell Tube station murder and the G20 summit protest murder and beatings, I'm back to where I was when I was twenty years old and have lost trust in the Police.

Uniformed bully-boy thugs.

There are good lawyers and politicians out there? Perhaps, but they are the rarity rather than the norm.

Go on, moan, blather, rant, nothing will ever change whilst the human element is in place, that's how we are.

And as I've said before, the public ranting detracts from the larger, bigger, often hidden, issues.
 
floppybootstomp said:
In my lifetime I've only seen one instance where public protests made a difference and that was the poll tax riots in Trafalgar Square where police officers were dragged from their horses and beaten.
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Three very recent instances where public pressure made a difference.

1. The MPs' expenses fiasco.

2. The Gurkhas.

3. The abolition of the 10p tax rate. This wasn't reversed by the government but other changes were made to try to ensure that the poor were not worse off.


These all happened in the last 6 months or so and I'm sure there are other instances. Think how many there may have been over the years.


Go on, moan, blather, rant, nothing will ever change whilst the human element is in place, that's how we are.
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It's not moaning, blathering or ranting but simply stating facts. It's the human element that leads to changes and that's how it should be in a free country.
 
Abarbarian said:
I'm sure the nation will remember all the bad guys come election time.
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... yep, they exhumed and posthumously executed one. His headless trunk probably lies in an unmarked grave in the Tyburn area, while his head became an undignified collector’s object.

:wave:
 
nivrip said:
Three very recent instances where public pressure made a difference.

1. The MPs' expenses fiasco.

2. The Gurkhas.

3. The abolition of the 10p tax rate. This wasn't reversed by the government but other changes were made to try to ensure that the poor were not worse off.


These all happened in the last 6 months or so and I'm sure there are other instances. Think how many there may have been over the years.
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I will agree on points 2 & 3, well pointed out.

As for MP's expenses, it doesn't seem resolved to me, all I see is a lot of hot air and political point scoring going on.

And I still think it's an issue that has been blown out of proportion, but that's just me. I have enough in my life to feel down about and I'm not going to get hot under the collar about MP's and their fiddling ways, I've known they're crooked all my life and therefore it's no surprise to me.

nivrip said:
It's not moaning, blathering or ranting but simply stating facts. It's the human element that leads to changes and that's how it should be in a free country.
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Define free country.

And FWIW I now have a sign over my computer which reads:

CAUTION!

If just returning from pub and/or feeling extremely loaded:

DESIST from posting in Forums and Facebook.

That should work ;)
 
floppybootstomp said:
As for MP's expenses, it doesn't seem resolved to me, all I see is a lot of hot air and political point scoring going on.
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True, it's not sorted out yet but I'm certain that there will be huge changes coming soon.


If just returning from pub and/or feeling extremely loaded:
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Hope it's not the former at this time of the day. ;)
 
nivrip said:
True, it's not sorted out yet but I'm certain that there will be huge changes coming soon.



Hope it's not the former at this time of the day. ;)
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Certainly not :D

I've never been a great one for drinking during the day, in my book the daytime hours are for doing stuff whilst the evening hours are for recreation.

I was at the pub last night from 7 til 11 whilst some of my peers had been there since earlier when I arrived.

HMS Illustrious looked good all lit up on my walk back :)
 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8041972.stm

"Former chairman of the committee for standards in public life, Sir Alistair Graham, said the expenses system had to be decided in the public and taxpayers' interest, by an independent outside body.

"It is depressing to keep hearing [MPs] saying 'well, it's the system that was wrong and we are changing the system'.

"The question you have to ask is who devised the system? MPs devised the system under their self-regulating arrangements and that's what must change for the future.""

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/...ity-men-Soho-flat-isnt-husband-worth-13m.html

"Former minister Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, was revealed to be claiming allowances for his second home in Westminster, even though his main residence is a £1.15 million house just 12 miles from Parliament"

"Mrs Follett’s claims sparked incredulity. She and her novelist husband are not forced to live in Soho. They own another property in South London as well as homes in Antigua, Cape Town and her Hertfordshire constituency.

She charges taxpayers for weekly ‘mobile security’ patrols at the Soho property, upkeep of closed circuit TV cameras and a burglar alarm system. Between 2004 and 2008 she claimed £25,411.64."





"Among the leaked documents were receipts proving that Health minister Ben Bradshaw switched his second home allowance from his constituency house to the home he shares with his boyfriend in West London.


The couple initially split the mortgage costs but then Mr Bradshaw started reclaiming the full costs from the public purse, even though he only owns half the property."


"And Barry Gardiner, the former environment minister made a profit of £200,000 after buying a flat in Westminster using his expenses to renovate the apartment - all while living just eight miles from Parliament."

Nothing out of proportion above then. Just good old MP's lining their pockets with our hard earned taxpayers money. :D
 
Quote by Flops

An MP's base wage for what they do is actually quite modest. They work long hours and their career will often only span 4 years if their constituencie's voting habits are volatile.
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Just like footballers..or not :)...price control is one thing that is never going to be totally addressed in the above situations..especially when quantative easing just fills the gaps left by irresponsibility ...

Like Flops said..if it were us we would .....to an extent :) , welcome to 2009
 
Well done that Canadian Mayor.
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Meanwhile over here we have this bunch of murdering thugs living it large at our expense.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8042519.stm

"Sinn Fein has defended their MPs against newspaper allegations that they claimed inflated costs for their accommodation in London.

The Sunday Telegraph claimed that three flats were rented by the MPs in north London over the market rate.

Sinn Fein's five MPs do not take their Westminster seats so are not entitled to salaries, but they do get expenses.

The party said the rental fees also covered charges for parking, housekeeping and utilities.

The Sunday Telegraph claimed Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness paid £3,600 a month in rent to an Irish landlord for a flat which a local estate agent estimated should cost just £1,400."

:mad:



Seems like all those derogatory Irish jokes just ain't true. Here is another clever irishman.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8042571.stm

"Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward, one of the richest men in the cabinet who does not take his full ministerial salary, reportedly claimed £100,000 in mortgage interest over four years.

He told the BBC: "I think the public look at us right now, think we have all got our noses in the trough - our profession looks shameful - it's embarrassing.

"Right now if I try to make almost any defence of our collective position - or my position - it looks terrible.""




That is probably the most honest statement he has ever made. :p
 
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"Of course the beauty of living in a Democracy, is that every constituant Taxypayer now has the legal right to SUE his dishonest MP (2006 FRAUD ACT, sections 2&4) to recover Public Monies from his bank account.... and can even claim free Legal Aid while doing so."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6256702.ece

"Andy Burnham, the culture secretary, has confirmed this weekend that he claimed more than £32,000 in one year without paying a penny in tax. Under HMRC rules, expenses are taxed unless they are “wholly, exclusively and necessarily” incurred in the course of employment. MPs voted themselves a special tax break in the Income Tax Act 2003, which means they are exempt. "

"Margaret Moran a backbench Labour MP, came under scrutiny yesterday after allegedly spending £22,500 of taxpayers’ money on treating dry rot at the coastal property she had designated her second home — even though it is 100 miles from her Luton South constituency. Yesterday she said the allegations were inaccurate and potentially actionable. "

"John Hutton, the defence secretary, switched his main home to a rented cottage in his constituency so he could fund a £730,000 London terraced house on his parliamentary expenses. He had previously said his main home was in London. He claimed £66,707 against the new London property over three years. "

"Some Labour ministers also face being questioned by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over whether they should have paid tax on profits they made from the sale of second homes. "


Come the elections remember the bad guys and make sure they never step foot in parliament again :thumb:
 
An the House of Lords is at it aswell.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6256710.ece


"A GOVERNMENT minister is claiming up to £22,000 a year in expenses by saying that her mother’s modest bungalow in Yorkshire is her main home.

Baroness Thornton, a Labour minister in the whips’ office, has lived and worked in London for more than 30 years and has a £1m family house near Hampstead Heath.

However, Thornton has claimed about £130,000 since 2002 by designating her mother’s current bungalow and, before 2005, her mother’s previous home as her main residence.!


When asked repeatedly about how she defined her mother’s bungalow as a main residence instead of her family home, she avoided the question and put the phone down. "

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I want to become an MP now!:p
I blame the careers adviser at school, could i sue them for damages!;)
 
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