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"...

Flyme, plenty of MP's have constituencies outside of London and yet have partners who have careers in London and elsewhere. That's what irritates me about all this "hostel" stuff". It assumes that all MP's have partners who will live in the constituency home and look after the kids while the MP goes off to London. That just isn't the case.

Ok so hostel for those as has. Hostel a size appropriate to numbers who require it. How about rented accomodation for the person travelling to constituency?

But don't you agree that both the consituency home and London base need to be large enough to accommodate the entire family?

That does seem excessive. Tell me why they would need that.

Because otherwise they would be spending almost every weekend and at least one weeknight apart

They have got rid of the 2nd home thing in Scotland. Mainly because a lot of MSPs were making huge amounts of profit.

What has annoyed me it that the vast majority of workers do not have an expense account to abuse in the first place.

It is very easy to be blase about money when you have far too much in the first place.

Before having DCs I was a manager of a very trendy hotel and I can confirm that the BBC has a "no expense spared" attitude. However, they take about 6 months to pay.

From what I have heard politicians have a surgery once a week.

But the surgery is a tiny part of it. MOst weekends are full of local events / meetings/ dinners etc that MP's attend.

I don;t have a problme with a second home but it should ewither be rented with an agreed allowance for rent and council tax and utilites or bought in which case they can claim an amount capped at the rent allowance any additional money needed eg to renovate a house could be as a loan which is repaid when the house is sold.

I agree with that Kew.

Even though he's a bit of a whoopsie, he's a national blimmin' treasure is Fry and he should be treated with the respect he deserves. If Fry thinks something, I agree with it cause by golly Nancy he's made a hell of a lot more out of his life than i have.
Stop being unreasonable, stop thinking bad things about him and remember him in the scetch from Fry and Laurie where he just looks at the camera and says the word "moistness". Pure comedy gold.
You is being VERY unreasonable.

Well SF looks a bit stupid in the light of the latest revelations today, about sheer bloody dishonesty.