MPs can continue to employ family members (From Daily Echo)
When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
MPs can continue to employ family members
5:05pm Thursday 1st April 2010 in News By Andy Tate, Parliamentary Correspondent
Desmond Swayne MP
A GROUP of MPs in the south will be allowed to carry on employing family members at taxpayers’ expense after a call for a complete ban was rejected by the new ruling body on allowances.
Sir Ian Kennedy, the chairman of the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), said spouses and other family members who worked for MPs often provided “good value for money”.
According to last year’s Register of Members’ Financial Interests, six MPs in the south have employed relatives using taxpayers’ money.
Winchester MP Mark Oaten employs his sister-in-law, Julia Harkness, as his secretary, Isle of Wight MP Andrew Turner employs his partner, Carole Dennett, as his Parliamentary assistant, New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne employs his wife Moira as his part-time office manager and executive secretary, Salisbury MP Robert Key employs his wife Susan as a parttime senior secretary and North West Hampshire MP George Young employs his daughter, Camilla, as his office manager.
The new one-employee limit will cover cohabitees and financial partners as well as spouses and blood relatives.
The decision goes against the recommendation of the man who drew up the original blueprint for reform of the expenses system, Sir Christopher Kelly, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
The practice of employing family members came under fire after a Commons inquiry found that former Tory MP Derek Conway had paid thousands of pounds to his sons even though there was no evidence they had actually done any work for it.
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance pressure group, said it was “unbelievable” that the employment of family members was being allowed to continue.
Comments(13)
Adrian Smith
says...
5:57pm Thu 1 Apr 10
Surely you can't be foolish enough to vote for Brown in May?
southy
says...
6:09pm Thu 1 Apr 10
Adrian Smith wrote:this labour government is not a socialist government learn to tell the difference, there is a clue why do you think they are called nu-labour for, i will tell you its because they are no different from the tory party, remember it was the torys maggie that interduce the expensives sheet and the allowance, if labour had still been a socialist party. then those would of gone a long time ago. but they are no different just another capitalist right wing party just like the torys.
I am glad you agree that the current 13 year old socialist Government isn't good.
Surely you can't be foolish enough to vote for Brown in May?
the only way you people will get a change and that is by voting a socialist in where ever they are standing there over 40 socialists that now have been selected.
Derek of Dibden Purlieu
says...
6:40pm Thu 1 Apr 10
southy wrote:Recent figures show that some people are doing very well on the salary and expenses front :-
get a good socialist government in power and this allowances will be got rid off, mp's earn more than enough money being an mp and dont need any allowances or expense to cover for costs. if there are 4 labour mps that only do the job on a working man wage and still dont make any claims. it must mean that the mp's over well over paid to do the job.
Tony Woodley.£105,761.
Derek Simpson.£97,027 + housing benefit of £38,340 and £24,480 toward his chauffeur-driven car.
Bob Crow.£91,646 in 2008.....and so it goes on. Today their money must be even higher.
southy
says...
10:42pm Thu 1 Apr 10
Derek of Dibden Purlieu wrote:wrong yet again derek bob crow is not on 91k he on 61k a year. and he dont claim expensives, he uses what he is paid to do and any costs comes out of his wages, plus any thing that is left over at the end of the year he gives to charity. and i belive woodley do the same. and if simpson gets housing benefit then that tells you he is on a wage below the bread line. whitch is telling you he has refused the union wage that has been offered to him. the chauffeur driven car is for union business only the car and driver is paid by the union and not by simpson, because simpson do not have a driving licence.
southy wrote:Recent figures show that some people are doing very well on the salary and expenses front :-
get a good socialist government in power and this allowances will be got rid off, mp's earn more than enough money being an mp and dont need any allowances or expense to cover for costs. if there are 4 labour mps that only do the job on a working man wage and still dont make any claims. it must mean that the mp's over well over paid to do the job.
Tony Woodley.£105,761.
Derek Simpson.£97,027 + housing benefit of £38,340 and £24,480 toward his chauffeur-driven car.
Bob Crow.£91,646 in 2008.....and so it goes on. Today their money must be even higher.
Derek of Dibden Purlieu
says...
11:08pm Thu 1 Apr 10
southy wrote:You aren't accusing me of being wrong, you are challenging the information I was given by one of the Branch Officers from Unite the Union. The law of averages suggests that one day you may be right so keep trying.
Derek of Dibden Purlieu wrote:wrong yet again derek bob crow is not on 91k he on 61k a year. and he dont claim expensives, he uses what he is paid to do and any costs comes out of his wages, plus any thing that is left over at the end of the year he gives to charity. and i belive woodley do the same. and if simpson gets housing benefit then that tells you he is on a wage below the bread line. whitch is telling you he has refused the union wage that has been offered to him. the chauffeur driven car is for union business only the car and driver is paid by the union and not by simpson, because simpson do not have a driving licence.
southy wrote:Recent figures show that some people are doing very well on the salary and expenses front :-
get a good socialist government in power and this allowances will be got rid off, mp's earn more than enough money being an mp and dont need any allowances or expense to cover for costs. if there are 4 labour mps that only do the job on a working man wage and still dont make any claims. it must mean that the mp's over well over paid to do the job.
Tony Woodley.£105,761.
Derek Simpson.£97,027 + housing benefit of £38,340 and £24,480 toward his chauffeur-driven car.
Bob Crow.£91,646 in 2008.....and so it goes on. Today their money must be even higher.
warness
says...
11:22pm Thu 1 Apr 10
southy
says...
11:34pm Thu 1 Apr 10
Derek of Dibden Purlieu wrote:and your a BSer derek i know you are wrong because ian and mac do not know them selfs all they can tell you is how much there region is paying in for the support of full time union employees, and they are your branch officers of unite, there is a lot of propaganda BS out there, because the right wing element is trying to get all left wing supporters removed and its not working union rank and file have had enough of right wing controlling there union and are slowly being removed right wing out of the top jobs.
southy wrote:You aren't accusing me of being wrong, you are challenging the information I was given by one of the Branch Officers from Unite the Union. The law of averages suggests that one day you may be right so keep trying.
Derek of Dibden Purlieu wrote:wrong yet again derek bob crow is not on 91k he on 61k a year. and he dont claim expensives, he uses what he is paid to do and any costs comes out of his wages, plus any thing that is left over at the end of the year he gives to charity. and i belive woodley do the same. and if simpson gets housing benefit then that tells you he is on a wage below the bread line. whitch is telling you he has refused the union wage that has been offered to him. the chauffeur driven car is for union business only the car and driver is paid by the union and not by simpson, because simpson do not have a driving licence.
southy wrote:Recent figures show that some people are doing very well on the salary and expenses front :-
get a good socialist government in power and this allowances will be got rid off, mp's earn more than enough money being an mp and dont need any allowances or expense to cover for costs. if there are 4 labour mps that only do the job on a working man wage and still dont make any claims. it must mean that the mp's over well over paid to do the job.
Tony Woodley.£105,761.
Derek Simpson.£97,027 + housing benefit of £38,340 and £24,480 toward his chauffeur-driven car.
Bob Crow.£91,646 in 2008.....and so it goes on. Today their money must be even higher.
the only rumour that is going around was a question that bob crow was ask at a meeting by a member of the press, when a reporter ask are you on the same sort of wage has a mp. with that bob crow said i see you done your research, whitch could be any where between 56k the lowest paid mp to 100k for a cabinet minister.
southy
says...
11:41pm Thu 1 Apr 10
warness
says...
11:43pm Thu 1 Apr 10
There are more frogs in the oven than there are on the counter.
Wafting smoke will not cool the curtains of fate
warness
says...
11:45pm Thu 1 Apr 10
southy wrote:Southers
give you a clue derek the highest paid union member is Shepherd TUC president and she not on even on £100,000 a year
Have another swig of that medicine. It's getting late.
southy
says...
11:54pm Thu 1 Apr 10
warness wrote:no but i have what ever your smoking. but if your on drink forget it i dont drink.
southy wrote:Southers
give you a clue derek the highest paid union member is Shepherd TUC president and she not on even on £100,000 a year
Have another swig of that medicine. It's getting late.
southy
says...
11:35am Fri 2 Apr 10
the difference is seeing you cant under stand the business of what a union member is paid is down to its union members.
where has mp's are paid by the tax payers and involves every one
this is the promise that every TUSC and Socialist party members will only live on a ordinary working man wage and will not claim expenses or allowances that gets elected to government. an mp's wage is more than enough to cover the mp's wage and all expenses and allowances.
now how many right wing people would be willing to do the same.
southy says...
5:44pm Thu 1 Apr 10