Or simply set fire to them?
Me thinks its time to clean out the pig pen!
While many of the issues being raised over the expenses of MPs sound very bad, the issue is really simple. Over an extended period of time MPs instead of sorting out their pay packages have resorted to giving themselves increases through the back door. This way they don't get criticism for increasing their wages, while holding down those of the rest of the public service.
I have no problem with MPs having housing allowances so that they are able to maintain two homes. I think it would be preferable to have a few blocks of flats around London where they all stayed, however that is not important. If we look at Morley and the Mortgage he had already paid off, which he continued claiming, in terms of law this would seem to be fraud. Now if we consider that if instead of paying off the mortgage, he or a company he formed, bought the mortgage from the Bank … a fairly normal practise as we discovered through the credit crunch exposures … he would have still been entitled to claim the payments even though they were effectively to himself. With that type of structuring, what he did, would not be fraud in terms of law!
We should not get too emotional about what has been going on, we should just get the whole pay package of MPs sorted out and transparent. If we have to pay them more then so be it. However whatever increased amount we paid them it should be taxable income to them, and if the amount has to be increased even further to allow for the tax then so be it.
I have said before that I consider all politicians corrupt, and ours, are little if any better than the Mugabes of this world perhaps ours are cleverer and less open in their corruption.