MPs' expenses would shame third world dictatorship, police tell Smith

[emad]

Home secretary forced to defend parliamentarians' allowances in comments to Police Federation

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 13 May 2009 14.58 BST


Frontline police officers today accused MPs of enjoying expenses that would not look out of place in a "third world dictatorship".

Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, was hauled over the coals by members of the Police Federation of England and Wales.

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Steve Morley of the Metropolitan police questioned why so many police allowances, from dry cleaning to extra cash for working on rest days, had been dropped.

He said: "Home secretary, can you explain for the benefit of my members, your electorate, why all our expenses and allowances have been taken away?"

Morley added that some claims by MPs would be "jaw-dropping in a third-world dictatorship let alone in the country of hope and glory"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/13/mps-expenses-police-jacqui-smith

[LeftishBrit]

1. Anyone who says that...

probably has never lived under a third world dictatorship. (I haven't either, but I know people who have.)

I agree, without all the hyperpole, that the greed and hypocrisy of our MPs is fairly disgusting.

[non sociopath skin]

2. We do need to avoid using "Third World" as a pejorative ...

The Skin

[LeftishBrit]

3. True (I was just quoting the OP there)

In any case, all dictatorships are corrupt and oppressive, to a far greater degree than the current British government.

[CJCRANE]

4. Some MPs have claimed £1000s...

but it's pretty small-fry compared to the £billion$ that the bankers have managed to get away with...

[fedsron2us]

5. True, but essentialy they are all part of the same problem

BTW MPs who feel they are being unfairly pilloried by the press would be best advised to suggest that ALL tax filings made in the UK should be made public so we can see how much people earn, own and pay in taxes. This might concentrate the mind of the Rothermeres and the Barclay Brothers a bit.

[T_i_B]

6. I'll tell you what the problem here is...

...the behaviour of our MP's has ensured that parliament now has no moral authority, which is a disaster for our politics.

Why? Because MP's of all stripes need to be able to make moral arguments and if they can't then their ability to pass good, nessessary laws for the common good is seriously impaired.

You've provided a very good example with corporate greed. I was in London a couple of weeks ago when the scandal was breaking and I came across a free paper for the Square Mile called "City AM" which had an editorial crowing about how politicians have no right to lecture others about greedy behaviour.

Suffice to say that reform has become very nessessary in order to restore moral authority to our politics. It would be nice to have politicians who we can respect.