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THE Prime Minister has said that the Home Secretary's use of parliamentary expenses to pay for pornographic films which her husband watched was “very much a personal matter”. Voters may disagree.
Her husband's home viewing habits ought not to be our concern, but thanks to the parliamentary expenses system the taxpayer covers the cost of the family's television package, which was used to pay for the films.
Now Jacqui Smith has let it be known that she has given her husband, Richard Timney — who is also her taxpayer-funded assistant — an “earbashing” and he has duly made a public apology for the error.
It is an undignified episode, though a good deal less important than the other aspect of the Home Secretary's expenses for which she is undergoing an official investigation. This is her claim that her sister's house in south London is her main home (she turned down the official residence that goes with her job), which allows her to claim a second-home allowance on her family house.
Meanwhile, her colleague Harry Cohen has admitted claiming a second-homes allowance, saying that his main residence is a seaside caravan and schoolhouse 70 miles from his constituency.
Most taxpayers, struggling to make ends meet in a recession, will be repelled by all this.
They are nonetheless entitled to know what at least some MPs are trying to get away with. Yet the Government appears more concerned with trying to establish whether there was a Commons mole who leaked the Home Secretary's expenses claims. MPs' expenses claims will shortly be made public, something they tried to prevent. Meanwhile, we should know as much as possible about their use and abuse of the system.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life is to carry out a review of parliamentary allowances but it will not report before the next election. Reform should come sooner. The best solution may be to scrap all allowances and simply pay MPs a flat rate, with an extra percentage for those outside London, which they can use as they please. They plainly cannot be trusted not to abuse the present system.
Another bail-out
MUCH to the Government's relief, the Nationwide has announced that it is to take over the healthy parts of the doomed Dunfermline Building Society, thereby saving jobs in the Prime Minister's constituency backyard. The catch, of course, is that the taxpayer is to take on its £1.5 billion worth of toxic assets.
The fall of Dunfermline shows that even a mutual building society can make serious errors of judgment in its lending. Mutuals cannot automatically provide new models of finance, as ministers hope, unless they are run on the old-fashioned principles of prudent lending which used to be their chief characteristic.
Certainly, the Chancellor was right to say that the company could not be shored up in its entirety by the taxpayer, when it was unlikely to be able to service its debts. However, we are back in familiar territory here, whereby the bad judgment of financial institutions' executives is to be borne by the public purse. This effective nationalisation of bad loans may now be unavoidable, and some of them may turn out to be less bad than they appear when the economy recovers. Nevertheless, it all adds to the already large burden of public debt — and the sense that taxpayers are, yet again, paying for the incompetence of financiers.
Green shoots?
THE housing market, it seems, is showing signs of recovery. Last month, the number of new mortgages rose to the highest level in nine months. Estate agents are cheering up. Financial institutions are starting to look kindly on first-time buyers, at least those with a 10 per cent deposit. Is this a sign of the fabled economic green shoots — nicely timed for spring? Let us hope so. We don't want the banks to return to their old reckless ways with lending. But signs of life in the housing sector is good news all round.
Reader views (11)
Be it politician or banker, they cannot help themselves.
- Mr Pastry, Brisbane, 31/03/2009 05:36
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I remember a time when any politician that was involved in any kind of scandal; resigned their position almost instantly; this went for both Labour & Conservative etc.
Politicians then; were more the true conviction type politicians; they believed in their job and their responsibilities; hence if they fell down morally; they did the right and moral thing; they resigned for the good of their party’s and the good on the Nation etc.
Today; all you have is corrupt and self serving politicians; who care nothing about honour and morality; and even less about the people and the British Nation.
They have become like business men and women; selling all our assets for a quick buck; and sending our jobs overseas to be done by cheap labour; not caring at all about British workers jobs, or their families etc.
They then want the British people to buy the imported goods from sweat shops; at vast profits to them; not thinking about how the British have to pay for them.
Never mind; give them credit for everything; and make the banks and stock market richer than ever before; and like a pyramid; the whole country becomes bottom heavy.
This is all they know today; live beyond your means; and screw everyone for all you can.
They can’t really lose you see; when they do lose; we have to support them anyway.
We could hit back; remember the buy British Era; let’s only buy British; or go without.
- Mickyinlondon, london, 30/03/2009 21:56
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I suppose the latest anti terror swoop is designed to boost the credibility of Ms Smith
- Aliruadh, lairg, 30/03/2009 14:11
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Amazing coincidence this women has the same name as the one that always goes on about how horrific it is that men pay for "sexual entertainment services". At least that hasn't happened here as the poor taxpayer has footed the bill.
- Paul, London, 30/03/2009 14:09
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While the general public are struggling to pay winter bills and increase rates you have MP claiming expenses for everything they possibly can. This Labour government is the most corrupt government in the history of the UK.
- Mike, Westmidlands, 30/03/2009 14:07
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What do we do with them ? It's simple - pay them the current rate of dole and give their jobs to the good, honest, intelligent people out there whom they've slung on the scrap heap by their incompetence.
- Aliruadh, lairg, 30/03/2009 14:07
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Harry Cohen has been my member of Parliament for years and he is now well past his sell-by date. The only time we ever notice him, or receive flyers about what a wonderful job he is doing, is during election time. He is far more concerned about the people of Iraq and Tibet, and in keeping the abortion clinics ticking over (he is pro-choice with a passion - that is to say, he is pro-murder) than he is with the day to day problems faced by his constituents.
- Gus, Leyton, London, 30/03/2009 13:57
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If Jacqui was doing her real job she'd be at home making a home and her husband wouldn't need to go looking at rubbish porn films. She is supposed to be married yet has kept her father's name and not taken her husband's name, no wonder her husband looks and sounds completely emasculated. If women want real men again there is only one way, get back into the home and start doing what they used to do, obey their husbands.
- John, Aberdeen, UK, 30/03/2009 13:03
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Will the blue movies lead to Jacqui Smiths premature ejection from the front bench.
- Paul, Lincoln, UK, 30/03/2009 12:58
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Why waste your Vote at the next Election?
VOTE MONSTER RAVING LOONY PARTY
Vote for Insanity
You know it makes Sence.
- Frank, Bristol UK, 30/03/2009 12:57
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A 'tongue lashing' from the Home Secretary - hmmmm that would be worth paying to see on TV eh? Oh sorry he's already done that.
"She's Fired!" she just doesn't know it yet. It beats me how someone with zero credibility and limited ability gets to stay in a job where the stench of corruption, expenses, fiddling, and milking tax payers money is so rife.
Ah, but this is Broken Britain, so good job if you can get it.
- Chris Williams, Cardiff, 30/03/2009 12:20
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