Tighter expenses rules 'harming MPs' mental health'

[AtW]

Dr Ira Madan told a committee looking into the system that its "frustrations and difficulties" had increased workloads but decreased rewards.

She also said MPs were tired of being the butt of jokes about their expenses.

And she said they were coming under greater pressure because of the "increased ability for constituents to readily contact members by email".

Following the expenses scandal of 2009, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority - Ipsa - was set up to more closely monitor MPs' allowances.

But MPs have complained that the new system is costly and bureaucratic, and has left many of them out of pocket.

Source: BBC News - Tighter expenses rules 'harming MPs' mental health'

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Well, MPs have a choice to do what they do best in real world rather than being elected as an MP based on party preference...

[TimberWolf]

The expenses thing was small potatoes compared to the other wheezes they pull IMO. Not looking at you in particular Bliar.

[AtW]

Not looking at you in particular Bliar.

All he did was to agree to start a war and go along with certain Mr Brown to get this country into deep debt - nothing any other politician would not do in his place

[TimberWolf]

All he did was to agree to start a war and go along with certain Mr Brown to get this country into deep debt - nothing any other politician would not do in his place

You forget the part about him also being the anti-Christ.

[SimonMac]

I always thought anyone wanting to be an MP had to be crazy in the first place

[centurian]

In fairness to them, it feels like the latest press release is a bit harsh on MPs. About 20-odd have been found to have "broken the rules" by claiming expenses for their website.

What did they do - forge the invoice from the website supplier, double submit the invoice

No, the website included an image of the Lab/Con/Lib emblem on the site - not on the home page, but in some cases, buried deep somwhere in site, like on the "Other Links" page, providing a link to their parties home page. Apparently, this means it is "party political", so is not covered by expenses.

Some of the MPs have had to repay the money. These MPs will be forever labelled as "cheats" now, but it's seems a very minor infringement.

[Arturo Bassick]

In fairness to them, it feels like the latest press release is a bit harsh on MPs. About 20-odd have been found to have "broken the rules" by claiming expenses for their website.

What did they do - forge the invoice from the website supplier, double submit the invoice

No, the website included an image of the Lab/Con/Lib emblem on the site - not on the home page, but in some cases, buried deep somwhere in site, like on the "Other Links" page, providing a link to their parties home page. Apparently, this means it is "party political", so is not covered by expenses.

Some of the MPs have had to repay the money. These MPs will be forever labelled as "cheats" now, but it's seems a very minor infringement.

Try making a minor infringement on your expenses claim and see how much sympathy HMRC gives you!

MPs should be made to play by the same rules as everybody else.
100% used for business = 100% claimable.
n% for personal use = 0% claimable. (though some exes can be pro rata).
If they did that then there would be no need for another ridiculously expensive publicly funded body to check they are doing it right.

If that story is correct then some of them spend an extraordinary length of time sorting their expenses. If they cant work out their exes then they are not fit to run the country!

[centurian]

Try making a minor infringement on your expenses claim and see how much sympathy HMRC gives you!

On the contrary, I think HMRC give us much more leeway than that.

If you claim a laptop for business purposes, you wouldn't expect HMRC to go rooting around the files, looking for the slightest indication that it wasn't for business use - and if they found one single file used for personal purposes, the whole expense claim gets rejected.

You can make an error on VAT of up to 2K - and you don't even need to let them know.

I'm not sticking up for MPs, but I think on this one occasion, they are complying with spirit of the rules, while ironically getting nailed on the strict letter of the rules.

[bobspud]

Tou only need to look at how many people on the other boards are whining about BN66 because HMRC changed a rule retrospectively. So why is it fair to try and retrospectively change the rules on MP's?

MP's had very lax expenses as a perk of the trade because the public wouldn't like to see them paid in the same league as some of the professions that the country might wish to attract people from. Before anyone starts moaning about that point, consider that the top end chaps here probably bring the best part of 150K a year in for dicking around with nothing more than electric Lego bricks !!

Despite the armchair politics discussed regularly, I don't see many people willing to dump their better wages to do an MP's role.

the poor sods should award them selves £200k basics and then point to the numerous directorships they could be on instead trying to run the country for you.

[Churchill]

Tou only need to look at how many people on the other boards are whining about BN66 because HMRC changed a rule retrospectively. So why is it fair to try and retrospectively change the rules on MP's?

MP's had very lax expenses as a perk of the trade because the public wouldn't like to see them paid in the same league as some of the professions that the country might wish to attract people from. Before anyone starts moaning about that point, consider that the top end chaps here probably bring the best part of 150K a year in for dicking around with nothing more than electric Lego bricks !!

Despite the armchair politics discussed regularly, I don't see many people willing to dump their better wages to do an MP's role.

the poor sods should award them selves £200k basics and then point to the numerous directorships they could be on instead trying to run the country for you.

They (MPs) should take a leaf out of Dennis Skinner's book. I don't agree with his politics but he seems to be an honourable man.