The pigs are jostling for space at the Parliament trough

Published on Saturday 23 February 2008 16:38

SO IT seems many of our Euro MPs are on the make. Now there's a surprise. A secret European report has uncovered "widespread criminal" abuse of expenses to the tune of £100m.

Euro MPs are allowed to claim up to 140,000 annually for staff and office costs, but it seems a significant number have channelled the funds through a third party to keep it in the family, as it were.

Of course, we in the UK know all about MPs' eagerness to keep taxpayers' money in the family.

It all started with now-disgraced MP Derek Conway paying his son a parliamentary researcher's salary when he was in fact studying at university hundreds of miles away.

When I questioned why we each needed five representatives in the various Parliaments in this column ('We have too many passengers on democracy's gravy train', February 3), I was inundated with correspondence, so I know what most of you readers think.

So here's a little more meat for you to chew on. The Speaker Michael Martin has been reported to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for passing air miles earned on parliamentary business to his family. Last year, the Speaker claimed 10,587 to cover air travel, much of which was spent on trips with his wife between Westminster, where he lives in a grace and favour apartment, and their Scottish home.

Elsewhere, the Commissioner has already agreed to launch an inquiry into the husband and wife Tory MPs Sir Nicholas and Ann Winterton, after they charged taxpayers 165,000 to rent their home, which they already own, as part of their inheritance tax avoidance planning.

Did you get that? We are paying our taxes to help them avoid paying any.

The Cabinet's golden couple, Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper, claimed 300,000 between them during the last financial year, including 30,000 for their second home.

Pensions secretary James Purnell claimed 20,000 from taxpayers to subsidise his London flat on the grounds that it was his second home. But when he sold it, he told the taxman it was his main home, and therefore escaped paying the capital gains tax due on a second property. In all, Purnell claimed 148,064 in expenses last year.

Yes, this is a lot of money, but he is not alone. Chancellor Alistair Darling claimed 136,854, more than Prime Minister Gordon Brown's 135,525.

Back in Tory town, multimillionaire Michael Ancram claimed more than 20,000 towards housing costs, even though his family owns three properties. He said he needed the money to paint one of them and clear moss from the garden.

Oh, I could go on and on. And that's the frightening thing. At least in Euroland they have stopped MEPs flying with cut-price carriers such as Ryanair and then pocketing the full fare charged by a quality airline. You couldn't make it up.

Rocky road ahead

NORTHERN Rock's savings webpage cracks me up. It says: "Your money is in safe hands." Right, that's why customers felt it necessary to queue around the streets to withdraw their nest eggs.

Still, they will be able to sleep easy now that the incompetent management has gone, and ministers have the reins. I don't think.

That aside, the Rock does still offer some attractive savings rates.

Would I save with them? Probably not. There are better deals around, without having to embrace worry and uncertainty.

Rates may be holding up now because the Government needs the funding, but when borrowers start to leave in droves, returns to savers will tumble.

125% desperate

PITY those poor suckers who allowed themselves to be talked into taking out a home loan worth 125% of the value of their property. They have been well and truly stuffed.

Those smooth-talking, yellow-livered cowards who lured these largely first-time buyers onto this road to hell have pulled the rug out from under them completely by halting their 125% mortgages.

It's not surprising. The banks realise that, with house prices falling in many areas, a 125% loan could soon be 150% or worse.

How callous. These desperate fools will now find themselves trapped, completely hostage to their existing lenders who can charge whatever they like. It makes me so angry I would like to take those responsible out into the garden and hammer nails into their fingers one by one right through the patio table.

And how stupid of them. What better way could they find of ensuring we see a return to the flood of homebuyers handing in their keys and disappearing? Are they so very anxious to see a rerun of the housing market of 1991?