I-PSA getting on top of things...

The towns' three newbie Tory MPs claimed a combined total of more than £11,000 in their first round of expenses.

This blog raised the matter of expenses last week and highlighted it to local residents, but has since received a few interesting remarks from people who seem unhappy the issue has been raised.

Given this blogger was not an MP in the last parliament, nor did it makes excuses for those that exploited the previous system, surely readers can allow a mere member of the public to pass comment on the expenses of public representatives who 'toil' at the public behest without a charge of hypocrisy.

Chatham and Aylesford representative Tracey Crouch led the way with £6,319.27, with Gillingham and Rainham's Rehman Chishti receiving £4,758.05.

The figure would almost certainly have been higher had Mark Reckless MP submitted his claims as well. Though by how much, we will not know quite yet, because he has been 'getting on top' of constituency work. As opposed to enjoying the delights and discounts of the Palace of Westminster of course...

Mr Reckless said of his £0 expenses:

"They (sic) are zero for the period because I thought getting on top of constituency work was more important than learning how to navigate a rather complex expenses system."

So by implication, anyone who has submitted for expenses, which includes most of his Conservative MP colleagues incidentally, have not been getting able to get on top of constituency work as well as considering it important to um, well pay for staff, stationary, office costs and associated logistics.

For a full and quite comprehensive list of those MPs who were and are able to get their head around the 'rather complex' expenses system please take a look at the Guardian List.

Interesting on Michael Crick's blog this evening

'There was a sudden eruption of outrage at a meeting of the Conservative 1922 committee this afternoon over the new MPs body, Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).

The subject wasn't even on the agenda, but MPs started expressing their anger almost spontaneously.

Their fire was directed at the leader of the House Sir George Young, from MPs complaining that they are losing thousands of pounds, many of them from the 2010 intake.'

Among the two dozen or so who voiced their anger were Adam Afriyie and Nadine Dorries.'

Oh dear... the public will be pleased...

Looks like IPSA is working then.