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Worsley MP goes on record about expenses
by Tom Rodgers
After the latest round of political careers coming to an end over misdirected expenses, one Labour MP shows that she's got nothing to hide by going into depth about what she spends her parliamentary expenses on. When looking at the naked figures - and they're all there for you to see on sites like www.theyworkforyou.com - £150,000 seems like a vast amount to spend on expenses. But as Worsley MP Barbara Keeley discusses, a large amount of the so-called expenses are taken up by staff on payroll, and the rent, bills and utilities of her Walkden constituency office. She herself is, like so many people now, in negative equity having taken out her mortgage on a flat in London when she was elected in 2005. This contrasts wildly with some other MPs (I think you know who I'm referring to) who have profited from the second homes allowance at the taxpayer's expense. She also suggested that the current Parliamentary system - where Bills are debated late into the night - be overhauled to look more like the Scottish system, where bills are debated at the same time every day, so members know when they can travel back to their constituencies. For example, Ms Keeley said she was still debating the new Equality Bill in the Commons at 2am, making travel plans very tricky and certainly more expensive.
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