Kiss goodbye to the golden payoffs, watchdog tells MPs

Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent
04.11.09

A call to strip greedy and disgraced MPs of “golden goodbye” pay-offs was made by the standards watchdog today.

Sir Christopher Kelly said MPs who fleeced taxpayers should not be allowed to retire quietly with fat resettlement grants of up to £64,000 in addition to their expenses gains.

His call could mean MPs such as Sir Peter Viggers, whose huge gardening bills included a duckhouse on his estate, and ex-minister Elliot Morley, who claimed £16,000 for a non-existent mortgage, being stripped of their pay-offs.

Urging parliament's anti-sleaze body, the Committee for Standards in Public Life, to take action, he said: “They already have the ability to withhold the grant from those who have misbehaved and we think they should be prepared
to use it.”

Sir Christopher spoke out as he published his long awaited reforms of the discredited expenses system.

As expected, it axed much-abused claims for mortgages, cut back on second homes (which will be rented in future), banned claims for furniture, flat screen TVs and gardening, abolished allowances for food and fripperies
and said MPs should stop fattening their household incomes by employing spouses and children.

It was not all bad news for MPs, however. Those who have paid off mortgages through the taxpayer will keep their property gains — and can now have
a third home free, albeit rented.

Moreover, the committee opened the door to bigger pay rises in future and ruled that MPs should be allowed to continue making extra money from part-time directorships and other jobs.

But Sir Christopher sharply criticised the entire political establishment for the way it had allowed a “deplorable” system to grow that let MPs enrich themselves from an expenses regime treated by some as a covert salary boost.

The root of the scandal, he said, was that MPs had helped themselves to money while claiming to be keeping their salaries down: “It is quite clear that ... in the past, sometimes quite
explicitly, leaders of parties have said we can't give you an increase in pay but we can give you more generous expenses', and that has led to a culture of entitlement in the House which has not been helpful.”

Responding to Gordon Brown's warning that politics could become the preserve of the wealthy, he said that was a matter for salary review, not expenses. He commented acidly: “It's
confusion between pay and expenses that has got the House of Commons into its current difficulties.”

He expressed “frustration” that parts of his report were leaked a week ago, just hours after he gave a personal briefing on the contents to the three main party leaders, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

He also slapped down outer London MPs who claim they need second homes because they work late at night.

He said ordinary staff at the House of Commons were not treated to second homes but were given taxis home or hotel rooms, and MPs should have the same in future.

He added: “Of course MPs have to live in two places, but they should not expect to acquire a valuable asset at the public expense.”

MPs will get up to five years before mortgage interest claims are cut off. But any capital gains on their homes made from today until then should be handed to the taxpayer.

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