MP's, Expenses and their energy bills- guess whose paying?

[HeeHiles]

Here

So not only do we have to pay for their 2nd homes we now pay their energy bills too?

Why do they need a 2nd home? can't they have a room to rent? WTF???

It makes me so bloody angry.

No way! That is beyond a joke, do they have no shame?!

Make use of that anger. Write to them. www.writetothem.com

Mine was one of the few who didn't claim, so I used Write To Them to thank him and remind him that people do notice these things.

Well what do you want? No support for the costs that their job entails at all so that only people who are independently wealthy can afford to be MPs?

The basic salary for an MP is £65,000 a year. I know crane drivers on that who have their expenses paid when working away from home.

We shouldn't be paying huge bills for someone to heat their estate. But we do need to ensure enough financial support is available to allow people of all backgrounds to be MPs. I don't want us to get into a situation where only the wealthy can afford to be MPs. If that means they get financial support to run a second home so be it.

Seasick i would love to run for council As im sure many people would. But a lot of ppl who would love to do this who are on JSA or low wages/zero hour contracts dont have the £500 that you have to lay out initially .................soooooo what was that again?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well what do you want? No support for the costs that their job entails at all so that only people who are independently wealthy can afford to be MPs?

I don't think anyone is saying that but expenses should work just like it does in any other job. The expenses at the moment seems to be making their wage pure disposable income instead of being responsible for their own bills, housing etc. it is being abused. Minister of Transport using a sodding limo everywhere, what happened to normal cars or - this may come as a shock to him - use the sodding transport he expects the rest of us to use! (Sarcasm in this isn't aimed at you btw)

And now heating their homes. When the rest of us face a £130 a year price hike. Whilst others are going cold. Jesus.

i would love to be on £65000 a year salary before expenses it would take me ten years to earn that amount i will remember that the poor dears need two houses and get their bills paid for them in january when i am trying to make ten pounds a week last me my gas for heatiing my one house

twitter.com/shirleykay11/status/397127357674561536/photo/1

twitter.com/robolollycop/status/397035649460498432/photo/1

I agree with everything Strumpetron just said.

What Strumperton said.

They do pay their own bills in their home.

This is about second homes only. 65k doesn't get you very far in London. If you also have to operate a home in your constituency it would be almost impossible on £65k unless you have independent wealth to supplement you.

Within living memory you could only be an MP if you had private wealth. I don't want to go back to that situation. I have no problem with supporting MPs with costs incurred by their job, and needing somewhere to live in London and the means to run that home is totally justified.

If you take that away parliament will only be populated by people who are wealthy anyway and it will become even more out of touch.

If that's the case, then how do you account for the wildly differing amounts claimed? Some MPs have claimed around the £200 mark. Some have claimed into the thousands. Assuming that each MP spends a similar amount of time in their second home on Westminster business, then you'd expect similar amounts to have been claimed (taking into account different providers and tariffs). That's not happened.

seasick so how come someone working in a local supermarket on a very low wage cant afford to run then!

Good point User.

Because it says one MP is claiming energy for an estate. This obviously shouldn't be happening. But the answer to this would be to find the energy cost for heating and powering something like an average 2 bed flat and pegging the maximum claim for energy somewhere around there.

But I'm very against the idea we should do away with this kind of support altogether as we would end up with a parliament that was even less representative than it already is.

I really think this is a case where people see the words MP, expenses and energy bills in the same sentence and start frothing at the mouth without really thinking about it.

This does not say that MPs do not pay their energy bills, they do in their primary home. They just get some help with the costs which they incur in a second home which are only necessary due to the nature of the job.

I fully support expenses, because as has been said, they help to level the playing field. That said, it sticks in the craw a lot when ordinary people (their constituents FFS!) can't afford to heat their single homes because of chronically low wages, a rising cost of living and energy companies almost unilaterally increasing prices.

We've had the heating on once so far, for an hour to check that everything was working. There have been several days where I'd have loved to have put it on, but we can't afford it.

I would also point out that a salary of £65000 is unattainable for the majority of the UK population. I believe the mean is something around £24000, which for where I live (North West, very deprived area) is still unattainable for most. If MPs are truly our representatives, they should have a little more empathy for the people they claim to represent.

Meanwhile.

www.katebelgrave.com/2013/11/struggling-with-the-bedroomtax-and-worried-about-kids-being-removed-its-a-danger-game/

I have no objection to MPs being paid well, better than £65k, nor to them claiming expenses for additional accommodation within reason.

I do object to them taking the piss then demonising benefit claimants for either also taking the piss or even just for being poor enough to need benefits.

YY Billy EXACTLY

I don't want only the wealthy to become MPs either, but I think there is a balance to be struck. I would rather pay them an increased flat rate salary but disallow them from holding any other paid job / directorship while an MP.

There are ways around paying out such large amounts in expenses - the MP's family only needs to live in one of the homes, which the MP can pay for. There could be a purpose built halls-of - residence type set up for MPs to stay in in London, with the alternative of a very basic constituency flat if the main home is in London.

I would also insist they use public transport (the PM and Chancellor could have cars.) Would like to insist they use only NHS and the state education system too, but that will never happen.

Billy is absolutely right - the MPs making the most vile condemnation of people on benefits, the disabled, and single parents, are often the ones getting the biggest state handouts for their own comfort.

dark that is only if you run as an independent, which most people don't. If a party choose you to run for and them then they pay not you personally.

I agree with sea

What SSS said.

IMO, £65k is actually very little for someone with the necessary skillset to be an MP.

You pay peanuts, you either get monkeys, or the independently wealthy. Neither of which I want running the country, quite frankly.

YABU. When I travel for business my company doesn't make me pay for it out of my own pocket. The MPs, like the rest of us, should be reimbursed for receipted expenses. Not one rule for them and something better for everyone else.

The thing is there needs to be limits. Or....lets provide them with council housing that they can live in. And spend the money they would have spent on their little Notting hill pad on building new houses for those who actually need it. They shouldn't be able to claim on the levels they do. It's ridiculous when single mothers are literally starving. The balance is wrong and no amount of "but they need it" will ever change my mind.