O/T Geraldine's Expenses

[Keith]

So MP's expenses have been released. The BBC has kindly put them all on line for us to have a nosey at...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi ... ml/412.stm

A big expenses claim for whoever purchased the black marker pen...

In another thread, Posh took me to task for using the highest amount that Geraldine claimed for food...

She estimated between £100 and £400 per month claimed "for food". I wonder how many working people spend £400 a month on food, especially those who have a subsidised canteen at work? In fact, I wonder how many 'poor families' that Labour was supposed to be supporting, have to survive on less than £400 on food a month?

I don't like defending Geraldine. However the figure quoted is between £100 and £400 a month, so you've automatically used the higher figure. A tad unfair.

However, even if it is at the upper end, as has been reported with other MPs, this figure does include expenses for taking people for lunch or dinner. Is it unreasonable to say that Geraldine, in the course of her constituency work, may take a visiting Morecambrian official for lunch?

...and he was right to do so, Geraldine only claimed £400 a month twenty-seven times in thirty-six months (although even MP's can't claim food while they are on holiday can they?). Geraldine did try and claim £450 twice in the early days, although on the second occasion it was pointed out that £400 a month is the maximum allowed.

It is a bit confusing to try and follow, especially because they aren't always in chronological order. I started to enter details in to a spread sheet so I could follow it. What is confusing...
AND I'M NOT FOR ONE MOMENT SUGGESTING IT'S INAPPROPRIATE ...simply that I don't know how it works,
...but it appears that MP's can claim up to £250 per month for "Miscellaneous Expenses" which don't appear to need justifying. But they also appear to be able to claim that amount per month for both 'Incidental Expenses' claims as well as 'Additional Cost Allowances claims'. So that's up to £500 each month that doesn't need justifying? Thus Geraldine claimed £5210 during 2004/05 without saying where it went. If this is taken as an average, then MP's are claiming more than £3,365,000 each year without producing a solitary receipt! Given that expenses claims for newspapers, stationary, phone calls, TV Licence, cleaning, printer cartridges, pictures, bedding, lights, towels, kitchen equipment, stamps, curtains, Data Protection registration and food are just some of the things identified in normal claims, it would be interesting to find out what the other £500 a month is used for

Of course there may be a simple explanation that I'm not aware of?

[Curly]

So MP's expenses have been released. The BBC has kindly put them all on line for us to have a nosey at...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi ... ml/412.stm

A big expenses claim for whoever purchased the black marker pen...

In another thread, Posh took me to task for using the highest amount that Geraldine claimed for food...

She estimated between £100 and £400 per month claimed "for food". I wonder how many working people spend £400 a month on food, especially those who have a subsidised canteen at work? In fact, I wonder how many 'poor families' that Labour was supposed to be supporting, have to survive on less than £400 on food a month?

I don't like defending Geraldine. However the figure quoted is between £100 and £400 a month, so you've automatically used the higher figure. A tad unfair.

However, even if it is at the upper end, as has been reported with other MPs, this figure does include expenses for taking people for lunch or dinner. Is it unreasonable to say that Geraldine, in the course of her constituency work, may take a visiting Morecambrian official for lunch?

...and he was right to do so, Geraldine only claimed £400 a month twenty-seven times in thirty-six months (although even MP's can't claim food while they are on holiday can they?). Geraldine did try and claim £450 twice in the early days, although on the second occasion it was pointed out that £400 a month is the maximum allowed.

It is a bit confusing to try and follow, especially because they aren't always in chronological order. I started to enter details in to a spread sheet so I could follow it. What is confusing...
AND I'M NOT FOR ONE MOMENT SUGGESTING IT'S INAPPROPRIATE ...simply that I don't know how it works,
...but it appears that MP's can claim up to £250 per month for "Miscellaneous Expenses" which don't appear to need justifying. But they also appear to be able to claim that amount per month for both 'Incidental Expenses' claims as well as 'Additional Cost Allowances claims'. So that's up to £500 each month that doesn't need justifying? Thus Geraldine claimed £5210 during 2004/05 without saying where it went. If this is taken as an average, then MP's are claiming more than £3,365,000 each year without producing a solitary receipt! Given that expenses claims for newspapers, stationary, phone calls, TV Licence, cleaning, printer cartridges, pictures, bedding, lights, towels, kitchen equipment, stamps, curtains, Data Protection registration and food are just some of the things identified in normal claims, it would be interesting to find out what the other £500 a month is used for

Of course there may be a simple explanation that I'm not aware of?

[edit] i think.

[Keith]

Black Marker pen taken to Curly's response already!

[Curly]

:lol:

Black Marker pen taken to Curly's response already!

Well how do you explain getting through £400 worth of food, then?

[ockers]

entertaining guests doesnt come cheap

http://www.buyagift.co.uk/Category/Id/6 ... ernoon_tea

[Curly]

Cheers for that, me and the good lady in London next year,
think she'd love an afternoon out like that

[Mark S]

Oh great! More politics.

[Gnasher]

Oh great! More politics.

Started by a mod as well. Whatever next? Poker? Fires? Pubs? Charity fund raising? One day the mods will leave room for football

[Mark S]

Oh great! More politics.

Started by a mod as well. Whatever next? Poker? Fires? Pubs? Charity fund raising? One day the mods will leave room for football

Its not the Poker, Fire, Pubs and Charity fundraising that gets us into trouble Brian, as you well know.

[Crimson Crust]

it IS close season!

Something else to keep us interested while Sammy and the gang hunt for new players.

Cheers Keith! Open season on Politicians........now, wheres my Peashooter. The robbin' buzzards!

[Gnasher]

Oh great! More politics.

Started by a mod as well. Whatever next? Poker? Fires? Pubs? Charity fund raising? One day the mods will leave room for football

Its not the Poker, Fire, Pubs and Charity fundraising that gets us into trouble Brian, as you well know.

I do know well! Town Clerk and Police on my back when I hosted the forum.

What was it? Three references to thieves and liars removed? If I knew who'd complained, I'd have asked them to justify their complaint but they didn't have the balls to contact me directly. [edit-Keith]

[Mark S]

And yet you persist in poking a stick at them even though you know full well it could jeapordise the future of the board for all of us.

Lets be clear we have on more than one occasion (one very recently) been contacted by The Council's Legal Department because a few individuals think that this is a great platform to spout local politics.

Maybe if you could put your name and address up on here they would know where to send the writ to directly?

[Gnasher]

I have already contacted the council direct Mark, you don't need to let them have my details, they already have them which surprises me why they have not been in touch direct.

[John L]

entertaining guests doesnt come cheap

http://www.buyagift.co.uk/Category/Id/6 ... ernoon_tea

I wonder if Jimbo could sort out a discount here....
http://www.buyagift.co.uk/Product/Id/3789/Name/Afternoon_Tea_for_Two_at_the_Bentley_Hotel

[outsider]

Not sure if its known but "the Telegraph" are putting the expensive claims on line over the weekend, with out the bits blacked out so you will be able to see everything.

Check out the Jeremy Vine (not him doing it tho) show on the bbci player from Thursday to find out more

[Gnasher]

Looking forward to the Telegraph's weekend reveal but I doubt it will be everything, they'll have to hide credit card details, etc. What's disappointing with the government's own publication is they have hidden more this time than they have revealed in the past under previous FOI requests. Hiding the addresses using data protection as an excuse is just covering themselves. Between them they've paid back so far just under a half million pounds, it's disgraceful.

[marky No.1]

entertaining guests doesnt come cheap

http://www.buyagift.co.uk/Category/Id/6 ... ernoon_tea

I wonder if Jimbo could sort out a discount here....
http://www.buyagift.co.uk/Product/Id/3789/Name/Afternoon_Tea_for_Two_at_the_Bentley_Hotel

Actually that is great value! When we were in Dubai, afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab was £72 a head

[Christies Child]

entertaining guests doesnt come cheap

http://www.buyagift.co.uk/Category/Id/6 ... ernoon_tea

I wonder if Jimbo could sort out a discount here....
http://www.buyagift.co.uk/Product/Id/3789/Name/Afternoon_Tea_for_Two_at_the_Bentley_Hotel

Actually that is great value! When we were in Dubai, afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab was £72 a SHEEP head

.....with or without the eye balls?

[marky No.1]

Actually that is great value! When we were in Dubai, afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab was £72 a SHEEP head

.....with or without the eye balls?

Is that allowed, editing my quote BAAAA humbug

[Christies Child]

NO.....but what's a SHEEP between friends?

No doubt I'll get my 'balls' chewed for daring to do something illegal by the mods!

[Posh]

In another thread, Posh took me to task for using the highest amount that Geraldine claimed for food...

There are some remarkably thin skins round here. Firstly I was right in my minor point, she didn't claim £400 a month every month. My major point though I immediately followed with, which was

However, even if it is at the upper end, as has been reported with other MPs, this figure does include expenses for taking people for lunch or dinner. Is it unreasonable to say that Geraldine, in the course of her constituency work, may take a visiting Morecambrian official for lunch?

And that's what you conveniently ignored.

Of course if she's taking no one to lunch or dinner and is either scoffing her face with alfalfa and krill salads at fancy London brasseries every night or claiming for what she hasn't eaten she deserves to get a big wave of Keith's naughty finger or worse.

[Posh]

Without doubt the best expenses claim bar none is as follows:

The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Tory MP, George Osborne claimed £47 for the purchase of two DVDs....



....of his own speech....




....and the subject....



....'Value for Money for Taxpayers'


You couldn't make it up.

[Gnasher]

Of course if she's taking no one to lunch or dinner and is either scoffing her face with alfalfa and krill salads at fancy London brasseries every night or claiming for what she hasn't eaten she deserves to get a big wave of Keith's naughty finger or worse

But we'll never know that because, even if they produced receipts accompanied by explanations of who they entertained and why (like the rest of us have to do in the real world), they have conveniently blanked any of that information.

[HALMA 1983]

All this babbling about Politicians expenses

It's a mere drop in the ocean compared to the welfare state handouts paid to useless drop-outs who contribute jack-shit to the society we live in,
High time National service was brought back in and Job seekers allowance was only paid to those actively seeking work, The rest can rot in hell
If Geraldine wants to dine on Eggs Benedict rather than what we have in a morning then so be it
Would any of you lot do any better if made an MP? I think not!

[P/T Indie]

and it's only pennies compared to what is going on over in the EU

By the time they pay for a review of the expenses it will cost more than the actual money they have had to pay back.