We're looking for a Mumsnetter to represent us at a 'News Comment Special' about MPs' expenses

[GeraldineMumsnet]

Editorial Intelligence in association with Sky News are inviting a Mumsnetter to attend a panel and group discussion, which will be podcast.

Here's a pdf of the invite so you can see the date/location/panel etc (which includes Helena Kennedy, Norman Baker and Derek Wyatt).

Please throw your names/nominations into the hat. We'd want whoever goes to blog or twitter, or something suitably modern, about the proceedings. It's next Wed, so it needs to be decided fairly swiftly.

Yah for policywonk.
I really dont mind holding your coat

Good job PW!

Yeh I could tweet the inane stuff like who's wearing inappropriate shoes and you could blog the important stuff about the end of the UK politics...

Um, I didn't mean to imply that you should do the inane stuff Just that I don't have Twitter on my phone at the mo.

And don't forget fashion notes -- are the hairshirts from Jermyn Street or M&S, etc.

Will expenses be transparent?

I vote Chloe coat for PW and Coast/other for her staff. The expenses office will pass the claim.

I have a couple of questions...

1. Why on earth didn't they just use IR standards for claiming?

1.a. - are they aware that under IR guidelines, you are only able to claim travel expenses if it is your place of work for less than 2 year? Many a contractor's been embuggered by that one, as they count 'the city of london'(ie EC1) as a single workplace, while you might have only 3 months with one company and 6 with another and still not enough stability to make a permanent move...

1. Where they've claimed to have been 'advised' (e.g. the married MPs who were advised to claim the London house as 2nd property for one, and the the constituency house for the other) - would they like to admit that they received this advice when they went to an accountant and asked how they could best milk the system?

Why did it take an American journalist 5 years to get access via the FOI Act? Why was there so much opposition?