To have gone off Stephen Fry?

[Fairynufff]

Everyone I have spoken to is absolutely outraged at the whole MP's expenses debacle but (wealthy tv presenter) Stephen Fry thinks we're all being petty by claiming the issue is "unimportant" and a "tedious, bourgeois obsession"...

he's great in the recent episodes of Bones
I don't think you can take what actors/comedians say about politics too seriously can you?

It's a shame he said that, as I do think he walks on water generally. Big shame. He's sunk a little now - perhaps up to his knees ...

I'm not outraged. And I am fed up with how much time it's taking up in the news. I don't think claiming ridiculous expenses is OK, not when it's 'my' money but I also am not in the least surprised and am amazed anyone else is. So I am bored of the whole thing. I like Stephen Fry and in this I tend to agree with him. I do think he spends a ridiculous amount of his life twittering though.

Well Newsnight felt his view was important enough to send an interviewer to ask him about it. He gave his reply wearing a tuxedo and dickie bow, presumably going to some non-bourgeois socialist worker meeting...

I agree with Mr.Fry, to harbour under an illusion that politicians are not a bunch of corrupted bureaucrats is utterly naive and harping about the recent expenses fiasco is indeed tedious.

Hear hear Rollmops.

Oooh I am going to be controversial here and say...I think the whole thing has been blown totally out of proportion. I do think it's an issue, but what I fail to understand is why it's only be blown up into this huge debate now? Surely we've all been aware - or at least the journos, politicians, lobbyists and anyone who has even a vague knowledge of politics have known - that politicians claim huge expenses and often have second homes? I don't think it's a coincidence that it's suddenly become this huge issue. Detracting from other, more important issues, perhaps (like the complete economic meltdown, perhaps?)...

It does make me sick that:

a) the Tories think they can somehow spin this as all as some sort of 'corrupt Labour' story. Yeah, right, like we have all forgotten the disgusting sleaze and corruption of the Tory government just a decade ago...

b) politicians from all parties, including Brown and Cameron, are wringing their hands and saying 'sorry'. Sorry for what? Sorry that you all got caught out having a good old jolly at the tax payer's expense? But you're not are you?

Anyhoo...personally, I am not outraged about this. I am not even surprised. I am vaguely disapponted, I suppose. Nothing more.

i agree with him. its not right, but the obsession is tedious and is it important in the grand scheme of things?

So we should all just accept it Rollmops? Working our butts off to pay tax so that MPs can have chandeliers, gardeners and expensive furniture?

The French revolution started this way...

claiming false expenses isnt exactly uncommon though, everyone fiddles their business expenses a little. Oly difference is this is tax payers money.

Lost count of the amount of times i've been one of my dads 'customers' on a meal out or how often dads put my petrol reciepts through his expenses for doing him a favour.

I can only assume it's us poor people that are "outraged" then...

No we shouldn't accept it@Fairnuff. It's probably for the best that they are going to have to watch their backs and be more accountable now. But I do think this whole thing has been hyped by a salacious, sensationalist media and probably a bit of behind-the-scenes political knife twisting. Same with swine flu. We need perspective.

On an other note - I find Fry creepy, personally.

StripeyOss - That's exactly the POINT! It's our money, yours, mine, everyone who goes to work and pays tax. It's for the good of the country - not for a bunch of MPs to feather their own nests...

And - not everyone fiddles their expenses.. My DH is scrupulous about his.

I didn't see his comments but dp was absolutely seething about it last night.

Go fetch the guillotine then....
It's politics, sadly. They, at least some of them, start out all bright eyed, bushy tailed and idealistic as can be. Won't last long though.

i agree actually... i mean, yes the system needs revising that has now been highlighted. so just bloody revise it!

the amount of media attention when there are bigger things to worry about is just voyeuristic.

how about our media and mps set about actually sorting out the country perhaps??? turn their attentions maybe on the multinational companies who actually run our country and hold our parliament to ransom despite not one of us voting for THEM.

I suppose the issue is more that these 'expenses' have been abused as a matter of course for so long (possibly many decades!) by all ministers, it has become almost an extension of their salary, with a nod and a wink to the term ''expenses'' in proper quotation marks, nudge, wink.
Probably most MPs felt there was an expectation to spend tht money in whatever way they could.
So picking over the pieces of MP Twunt's 39p here or MP Shagger's £200,00 cleaning bill is irrelevant.
I don't care who has prostrated themselves saying ''sorry about the Ikea napkins''.
Unless we all were to recieve a nice tax rebate funded by the money retunred personally from every MP and former MP, who is still alive, how does banging on and on about it benefit us?

Corruption oozes out of all leadership sooner or later.

Holy Moly - no wonder the country is in such a mess - I wondered why no one had organised a march on parliament... complete and utter apathy...

Stephen Fry = the stupid person's clever man

YANBU, it put me off him to.

He went on to say that he had fiddled expenses at the BBC. Pay it back, you twat.

So it is just me, you (TheCrackFox) and Janeite's DP that think he's a twat then? IABU?

TBH, I thought he was a twat before all this expenses stuff.

I'm not apathetic about the things that are important to me. Starting wars etc This is just the media storming away because everyone is bored of swine flu. I don't care who has a leaky tennis court and who needed dog food. The endless details are tedious - overhaul the system now it's all in the open and move on. But find something more important to fill the news. I agree with the principle that overclaiming on expenses isn't right, especially when it's our money, but most people (except Fairynuff's DH) do it. We'll be finding out MPs have affairs next. Would you BELIEVE it?!

My Dad worked with lots of people whom he said "Thought they were their expense accounts" meaning they were flash gits who loved to live it up if someone else is paying. People aren't all attracted to politics because they are idealists - most like the games and the intrigues and the potential power I think. Not all, but a lot. I don't understand what the sudden outrage is. Surely we all knew this?

I did think the bloke with the moat was funny. Shows how 'in touch' our politicians are. Poor persecuted things.

The "bloke with the moat" lives near me and I've known him since I was about 10. What the papers don't mention is that his wife is very independently wealthy and it was mainly her money that purchased the house, not Parliament. Yes I would guess that some money from Parliament would have gone towards it, but no more than if it was a smaller house, they've paid the rest. And he says that he never has claimed for having the moat cleaned out.