to be unforgiving of my employees?

[PigletJohn]

With some other people, I own a share of an organisation. I recently discovered that one of the managers fiddled £45,000 on her expenses. She's offered to pay £5,000 back. Her basic salary is £141,000 but she gets perks on top.

I say we should sack her at once, but her colleagues say that she's apologised so we should forget about it.

I don't think the other owners are too pleased either. Should we do what the other managers say, or are they just saying that because some of them have been fiddling their expenses as well?

And hands up all those who feel the eligible claims for expenses are outrageous anyway.

I don't understand how this MP was legally allowed to claim for the interest on her mortgage... when she then allegedly is able to make a £1.2 million profit on said property?

Shouldn't a proportion of that profit then be for the tax payer or something?

MPs can't have it both ways.

I personally don't get how mortgage interest is a legitimate expense anyway. If the MP has bought the property and has a mortgage from the bank for said property than the interest is their responsibility alone.
Running costs of a second property I can understand if the MP is only living there due to their need to be within their constituency/close to Westminster and actually have a primary residence elsewhere.

But to have the tax payer pay their mortgage interest and then to make a profit on the property which is theirs alone makes my blood boil!

love the "(public sector)" below :)

The question is, if we're all so outraged, what are we going to do about this? Are we just going to tut and let her get away with it, or are we going to take action?

I'm asking this question of myself as much as anyone! I probably will write to my MP, but is that enough? People in public life get away with this kind of thing because we allow them to.

I agree with you Jinsei but what action would you suggest? We had a major problem involving an elderly relative abroad and asked our MP for help. His sole action was to write one letter to a lib-dem peer whose answering letter fell somewhere between passing the buck and fuck off. MP then said he was unable to offer any more help, no assistance with foreign office, no advice, nothing he couldn't possibly have been otherwise occupied with Brazilian rent boys and illegal substances

Sorry, what I meant by that is that the bastards simply do not care. As long as they are getting their money and seedy kicks they have no concern at all for the "little folk"

Sad thing is that I don't think any politicians at all can be trusted.

I am becoming quite keen on the demerger proposed on 18 September as a way to promote and widen the remit of an entirely more competent set of regional managers.

Thomas Docherty cut his campaigning teeth in my constituency at the 2001 election. He could add to the pool of talent up here again.

The point is that there is nothing much we can do about it. And it will be even worse if there is more press regulation. We won't even know about this kind of thing. And they will all be free to fiddle and cheat as much as they like. There are a handful of MP's interested in actually helping people.

There are things we can do about it:

Refuse to let the matter drop. Write to your MP, write to newspapers, make your opinion heard. Politicians' offices and parties' campaign teams read social media too.

Don't vote for anybody who has acted like this, or condoned acting like this, ever again.

When people come to your doorstep next year, canvassing for the next general election, tell them exactly what you expect of your MP and ask for a commitment to transparency and integrity.

I still think that Miller is doomed. The furore shows no sign of dying down.

Sorry, what I meant by that is that the bastards simply do not care. As long as they are getting their money and seedy kicks they have no concern at all for the "little folk"

But they don't care because most of us are so apathetic - me included. I feel like I'm too busy to be out on the streets protesting about it, but there's a part of me feels that things won't change if we don't do that.

Not sure if someone has already posted this,

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/conservative-mps-expenses/10746009/Maria-Miller-expenses-transcript-of-advisers-conversation-with-Telegraph.html

Bearing in mind she is the one who is supposed to be bring in the press gagging law....

And I think 'pretty shocking' is being rather polite

www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/apr/05/maria-miller-expenses-culture-secretary-mps

As for writing to your mp who are part of the gravy train... Hmmmm, but not sure what else anyone can do..

• to be bringing in the press....

Didn't preview fail

Some MPs might also have their snouts wedged into the trough, yes. Not all of them, though, as was shown when MPs' expenses first came under the microscope. Some MPs' expense claims were irreproachable.

Irrespective of who may be claiming questionable expenses, or trying to wriggle out of answering questions about their expenses, or threatening newspapers, it's we who elect politicians. Never forget that. They don't.
Not because they necessarily want to do the right thing, but because they can see the consequences of angering voters. Neil Hamilton lost Tatton, as safe a Tory seat as you can imagine, to Martin Bell over the 'cash for questions' affair. 'Sleaze' was arguably one of the factors behind our last two changes in government.

I repeat, this is why Mandelson and Laws got the push from the front bench and why Elliott Morley, David Chaytor and some of the other MPs who tried to dodge the proper legal process when they were accused of fiddling their expenses were expelled by their parties. The parties saw that they were liabilities because voters were outraged at both their financial conduct and their unwillingness to face the consequences of their actions.

Don't think that the electorate are powerless. We're not.

She should pay it back and go to prison.

So should any manager siding with her.

Financeprincess, I agree that not all of them have their snouts in the trough, however it wasn't just the incumbent party that decided to accept the recent pay rise, nor the press regulation which is welcome but politicians of any colour will benefit from.
This is an example of cutting loose the lowest hanging fruit, there where many others involved in the expenses scandal that have just got away with paying back 'what is owed' and an apology.

This is systematic and to think the electorate has really truly any say in what happens is a bit naive

Sack her. This is the first time, or the first time she's been caught? No apologies, just get rid. What else has she lied about? You'll always be wondering.

Woah, forgot IMO to end my previous post with....

Sorry

She should spend more time with her family.

She's a Crook.