Remember when we paid £2,115 to clean an MP’s moat? In 2009, many MPs were found to have abused taxpayers’ money by claiming outrageous expenses. [1] Trust in our politicians crumbled…further. But despite this, you’ll never guess what they’re planning to do now. An idea is being floated to hide the names of MPs whose expenses are being looked into. And make details of expenses less thorough. [2] But our MPs work for us, so what they spend our money on is our business. IPSA, the watchdog which sets the rules for MPs expenses, is asking for the publics opinion before anything is set in stone. [3] A huge people-powered petition demanding that politicians expenses are kept public could force the plans to be dropped. Can you sign it now? SIGN THE PETITION secret politicians IPSA says that this new level of secrecy aims to protect MPs from the reputational damage they would suffer because of public scrutiny. But reputation is built on trust, which comes with honesty and transparency, so this argument doesn’t add up. And critics say that the lack of transparency is what led to the 2009 expenses scandal. New secrecy rules would be a backwards step. Will you sign the petition now to keep all MPs’ expenses public? Please click the link to sign the petition: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/mps-expenses PS: This petition and your signature will be carried straight into the office of the officials in charge of making this decision. Please sign it now: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/mps-expenses NOTES: [1] The Telegraph: MPs’ expenses: telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/ The Telegraph: MPs expenses: clearing the moat at Douglas Hogg’s manor: telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5310069/MPs-expenses-Clearing-the-moat-at-Douglas-Hoggs-manor.html [2] The Daily Mail: MPs’ expenses: A new cover-up as watchdog wants names of suspected cheats kept secret to save them reputational damage: dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2773899/Parliamentary-probes-MPs-suspected-fiddling-expenses-held-SECRET-controversial-new-plans.html [3] The Telegraph: MPs investigated over expenses should not be named, watchdog says: telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/11128702/MPs-investigated-over-expenses-should-not-be-named-watchdog-says.html IPSA: Consultation on the Procedures and Guidance for the Compliance Officer for IPSA: parliamentarystandards.org.uk/transparency/Current%20Consultaions/Consultation%20on%20the%20Procedures%20and%20Guidance%20for%20the%20Compliance%20Officer%20for%20IPSA.pdf
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 20:08:35 +0000
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