UK News
British scandal over parliamentary expenses claims first victims
May 14, 2009, 20:03 GMT
London - Britain's growing scandal over the misuse of parliamentary expenses claimed its first victims Thursday when a former Labour Party minister was suspended and a top Conservative lost his job as adviser to party leader David Cameron.
Elliot Morley, a former agriculture minister under ex-prime minister Tony Blair, was suspended from the parliamentary Labour Party after it was revealed that he continued to claim expenses on a mortgage on a second home that had long been paid off.
The amount in question - 16,000 pounds (24,000 dollars) - has been repaid by Morley, who also lost his job as the international climate change envoy for the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Conservative member of parliament (MP) Andrew MacKay resigned as a close adviser to Cameron after admitting he made claims on second homes described as 'unacceptable' by Cameron.
Both men, however, remain members of parliament until the next general election, which must be held by the middle of 2010.
MacKay and his wife, Julie Kirkbride, who is also a Conservative MP, both claimed expenses on properties they declared as their respective second homes in a process described as 'double flipping.'
The scandal, revealing immoral rather than illegal conduct under the expenses rules, have shaken all main political parties just weeks before local elections in England and elections to the European parliament in early June.
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TruebritMay 15th, 2009 - 13:20:30
He forgot that he'd already paid (or rather WE'd paid) the mortgage off?
Two married MP's EACH claiming full expenses for the same place?
Contrast this with the case of a Mrs Patel, who faces the possibility of prison or an enormous fine for 'address fraud' simply because she was trying to get her kids into a decent school instead of the sink pit they would have otherwise had to attend.
But of course she's only an 'ordinary' person. Our MP's, like arrogant, over-rich, pointless 'celebrities' who sneeringly refer to ordinary people as 'civilians,' have forfeited all claims to any respect.
As Oliver Cromwell said:
'Gold is your God... …Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defil'd this sacred place… ….Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation. Ye were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress’d and are yourselves become the greatest grievance… ….In the name of God, GO!”
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