MPs' expenses

The report said “all Labour MPs have been told to open their books” while the Comment column said your reporter asked if I would be complying with the party’s “order to publish details”

of my expenses by the following week. This is somewhat inaccurate and misleading.

On May 13, Parliamentary Labour Party chairman Tony Lloyd offered some “advice” to members. One day later, he sent another circular “advising” that we all seek to publish.

I had decided already not to accept such advice.

On May 15, a circular from Clerk of the House and Chief Executive Dr Malcolm Jack outlined three reasons for adopting the position I had taken.

Furthermore, Mr Lloyd referred to the complexity and time needed to prepare the details for any release – time needed much more to deal with urgent constituency and other matters. I explained this to your reporter.

Let me make clear: I have no objection to expenses being published; the party has not instructed members to publish; the details will be published as agreed under proper legal protection of the House, and in a way which will not jeopardise the parliamentary network’s integrity; questions arising from publication will be answered truthfully.

Frank Cook, Labour MP, Stockton North.

FOR those thoroughly disgusted at the way MPs have conducted themselves lately there is a way of monitoring some of their behaviour.

The TheyWorkForYou.com website automatically notes your MP’s every comment in debate as well as their other actions. The information is automatically sent as an email to those who have registered. It also informs a constituent of their MP’s previous voting record.

A suitably informed constituent would then be able to build up an accurate profile of the type of person who professes to represent them in Parliament.

Perhaps constituents would then be able to more closely influence what their elected representative claims to be doing on their behalf.

Some MPs are guilty of greed.

All MPs are guilty of failing to regulate that greed.

There is also fault on the behalf of the electorate. A combination of ignorance and indolence creates the perfect conditions where the merchants of greed can operate.

If we fail as an electorate to adequately cleanse the parliamentary Augean Stable, what kind of world are we leaving for our children and grandchildren?

Access TheyWorkForYou.com and “snow” your MP by email with informed comment and opinion. Let them know their actions are being continually reviewed.

Apathy is its own reward.

S Markham, Chester-le-Street, Co Durham.

ALREADY there is a suggestion that the proper alternative to a bizarrely overgenerous expenses system is a substantially higher basic salary for MPs.

It seems, however, that the fundamental problem is not the outlandish claims we have been hearing of. It is that the remuneration level is high enough to attract MPs whose motivation and perspective make them unsuitable to represent and serve us.

Yes, they must be able to survive without an independent income. But they should not be so comfortable that they wish to remain in the House regardless of whether they have anything useful to say.

The setting of MPs’ salaries is, of course, highly contentious.

That is why I suggest only that the chosen figure, whatever it may be, is printed on the parliamentary ballot paper alongside each candidate’s name and party.

If, however, a candidate agrees to do the job for less, or indeed wishes to ask for more, then his or her preferred figure should be printed there instead.

Winning candidates would each receive the amount they have stated. This would allow voters to pass the final judgement on pay rates.

John Riseley, Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

RECENTLY, Middlesbrough MP Sir Stuart Bell stated on TV that the discredited MPs’ allowance system had been allowed to develop due to MPs in the past keeping to government policies of pay restraint. How very convenient for them.

However, British workers and the public had to abide by these same pay policies without any backdoor method of improving their income. Yet another example of deceiving the people of this country.

Over recent years, some MPs and members of the House of Lords from the North-East have been vocal in criticising the financial affairs of the Durham Miners’ Association (DMA).

I hope these same critics read your article regarding the successful conclusion of a long fight to get the miners’ knee condition accepted under the Industrial Injuries Act (Echo, April 16).

This is an example of the members’ voluntary subscriptions being used for the purpose it was meant for. Well done, DMA. Apologies from those hypocritical MPs should be on the way. Well done, also, to the expenses whistleblower for service to the people. Hopefully, the House of Lords is next.

Ian Firth, Blackhall Rocks, Hartlepool.

WHILE it must be recognised that all MPs must bear the responsibility for the crisis in which Parliament finds itself, it must be further recognised that the Speaker, Michael Martin, must accept his actions in trying to withhold expenses information of MPs are key to this fiasco.

His pathetic rambling in the House of Commons on Monday showed he is not worthy of the office he holds. His performance was terrible, but it was eclipsed only by his sorry cronies trying to defend him.

They say that there should be no scapegoat. I would remind them that they were happy to receive a scapegoat in the figure of the sorry Dr David Kelly.

This honourable, yet hapless, man’s sudden and untimely death released the Government from a lot of pressure when it needed a get-out over the Iraq weapons of mass destruction lie.

A scapegoat suited it then – it should suit it now.

Colin T Mortimer, Pity Me, Durham.

■ Footnote. This letter was submitted before Mr Martin announced his intention to quit.

YOU kindly printed my letter (HAS, Jan 21) in response to an article (Echo, Dec 4, 2008) which included the amount claimed in expenses in one year by our region’s MPs and asked: “Are we getting value from our MPs?”

My answer was that we were not, but at the time of writing that letter I had no idea that the expenses issue would be exposed to the extent that the public are being mugged by MPs, albeit without the violence.

I am sure readers would like to see a list published of all MPs’ expenses and not just for last year. At least we can have the knowledge of how dishonest and unfair the system has been.

Obviously, there is no incentive for MPs to do the right thing, but as my previous letter suggested I am sure there are numerous readers who could apply more common sense to this issue than is being exercised.

Hopefully, we will see change, but it will not help the previous years of extortion and greed.

David Simmons, Darlington.

WE are the masters, MPs the servants. So how do they get away with behaving like robber barons with us as their serfs?

Could it be because almost half of the electorate chooses never to take part in the current “democratic process”?

With so many cynical about our politics, isn’t it clear the whole process needs changing from top to bottom so it becomes ever more inclusive?

Politics isn’t like a football match where you choose a team and then stand on the sidelines.

You need to be able to participate, not just at the election, but all of the time.

We should be more involved.

Little wonder the servants take charge of the household if the masters’ only participation is to hand them the keys to the safe.

Gerard Wild, Richmond, North Yorkshire.

COULD someone explain to me why MPs get a £400 food allowance, when they are some of the highest paid in the country?

It beggars belief when people such as myself, on minimum wage, struggle at the end of the month to pay bills and put food on the table. It’s about time these people were brought to book; they make enough money without fleecing the taxpayer.

Name supplied, West Cornforth, Co Durham.

DOES anyone else find it ironic that MPs were standing up and lambasting the Speaker for failing to prevent them from being at best greedy, at worst dishonest, stating that they need someone else to help them be “honourable”.

I thought being an honourable person was down to one’s self and one’s conscience. Maybe that’s it – they haven’t got one.

Stella Pope, Framwellgate Moor, Durham.

OSCAR Wilde famously said that fox hunting could be defined as “the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable”.

Until recently, our Parliament has been made up of “the unhonourable in pursuit of the unaccountable”. But now the “hounds” are in justified pursuit of the quarry.

M Hawkins, Langley Park, Durham.

I WONDER if perhaps we will henceforth hear less talk from some of our MPs about the EU gravy train now that we have our own home-grown one.

Anyway, let’s hear it for our side: altogether now, Ah! Bisto.

GH Grieveson, Richmond, North Yorkshire.