MPs' expenses: things for policywonk to say if she gets the chance

[policywonk]

So I'm off tomorrow afternoon to this panel discussion thing: here are the details

I'll go through the old thread tonight but post any more stuff here. Y'know, if you want to.

I'm SO OVER MPs' expenses.

I don't understand the process.

So, Heather Brooke applies under the FOI for MPs expenses to be put into the public domain. This is rejected. She then lodges a claim through Judicial Review. What happens in the 5 years in between the initial request and Judicial Review which is why the expenses are being made public.

Who is defending the action? Who is funding it? Who has been consulted? There are some MPs who I am sure have nothing to hide. Is there general consultation amongst all MPs?

Sorry for all the questions, but since I'm on a roll: is Elvis still alive?

Oh and Lenin -- I meant perestroika as far as restructuring...

just for info Norman Baker expenses

Helena was furious about that case Len, and she reckons there's a lot of it going on in the Lords - that's why she wants all appointments stopped until this whole crisis has been resolved.

Re. your question about discipline: that's what my first question (below) referred to. Basically, Parliament is the highest court in the land; nobody can kick out a member of Parliament (Commons or Lords) except their peers. The Standards and Privileges Committees (one for HoC, one for Lords) are the ones who dole out sanctions where necessary. Lots of people might think, especially now, that this is a function that ought to be farmed out to an independent body. BUT then you've destroyed parliamentary sovereignty, and left Parliament vulnerable in the case of swivel-eyed maniacs taking over the independent disciplinary body (as opposed to swivel-eyed maniacs taking over Parliament - we're used to that).

Joshua Rozenburg was in the audience and asked a question about sovereignty. He reckons that farming out decisions about MPs' pay to an independent body is unconstitutional 'cos of the sovereignty issue.

It's interesting I think. Don't know what the answer is. (Better MPs and more transparency, I suppose.)

I DO NOT fancy Stormin Norman. But I would put my nice new Monsoon coat over a puddle for him to walk over. I'm sure he would demur though.

ILove... 'Who is defending the action?' The Commons Commission and the Speaker's Office, I think.

'Who is funding it?' We are, sweetheart! Thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money on the best lawyers in the land.

'Who has been consulted?' Basically, the Commons Commission decides, presumably after taking soundings from party leaderships. There's no open debate among MPs, but as you'll see from the long list of MPs who voted in favour of FOI exemption, this sort of anti-transparency action had huge support among MPs.

'Is Elvis alive?' If Elvis were alive, he'd be dead by now.

NormieNotSo, I can see through your dastardly disguise

I did see that about his expenses but nobody seems to be making very much hay with it.

Can't MP's pay be pegged to a senior civil service grade?

That would also stop them having to vote on it, and having to get pay rises in by the stupid, "let's fool the constituents by creating a byzantine system they will never understand" route.

They are paid ridiculously little - it's stupid to have a situation where you can have a minister earning far less than the permanent secretary in their dept.

But it would be political suicide for any of them to say so, so you've got this silly situation.

HB deserves a special citizen's medal.

When I asked the q about her, Julia H did wonder aloud why she had not been all over the papers.

BTW I heart Helena Kennedy

Len, that triggers a 'Vote Conservative' placard to spontaneously erect itself in your front garden.

YV - that's pretty much what HK and Jenni Russell said. HK suggested a County Court judge.

who the hell is heather brooke

I remember a couple of years ago reading that it was the speakers office blocking the FOI request. Also it made a big deal about the amount of tax payers money that was being used to prevent us from seeing the expense accounts.

As I understand it
House of Commons back staff stopping the tax payers from receiving information about how tax payers money is being spent. With the approval and encouragement of the ex speaker.

THEN we had Steve Richardson from the Independent. Had never heard of him (sorry Steve) but he was funny and did very good impersonations (Harold Wilson, Blair and Tony Benn).

On independent MPs, he said he'd just spent two weeks on a cruise with Martin Bell and Esther Rantzen (don't think they were together) and it had put him off the idea of independent MPs for life. (Don't think ER is an MP though, unless I missed a really big meeting.)

He talked about how easily new MPs (and presumably civil servants?) get sucked into the parliamentary culture and soon forget how things would appear to outsiders ('strangers', as they call us).

Another good point: voters are confused and asking for mutually contradictory things. eg, they want 'strong leadership' but they also want MPs to hold the government to account. These things are pretty much incompatible and the public needs to decide which is more important.

If we decide accountability is more important than strong government, then the media will also have to change its tone, and stop behaving as though the government's loss of a parliamentary vote is the end of the world.

He talked about Blair and co 'showing off' about how thoroughly they controlled Labour MPs.

He also said that this issue has made him support electoral reform (PR) for the first time. Blair once said that the media was his only effective opposition; this is undemocratic.

Joggler - the woman who pursued the matter of MPs' expenses through the courts using freedom of information requests. None of this would have come out without her.

Then I had some coffee and Julia H apologised to me and Jenni R was nice to me (she's very glam).

Then I went to the loo.

The End.

Oh Christ. That's the downside of independent MPs I suppose - farking 'personalities'.

Oh PW this is all awful! As if the one thing this country needs is MORE political disaffectism (is that a word?)

Don't rip up the sign Leningrad - or come the spring, VOTE TORY will spontaneously appear in your herbaceous border, picked out in marigolds.