Credit cards and Councillor Allowances

It seems that despite the issue of cuts and value for money being at the forefront of the local election campaign we can now see proof positive that Conservative Councillors, not only cost the tax payers more, but are simply not willing to state a simple position; that we need to accept a universal reduction in allowances.

Some might say it is ironic that it is Labour leading on a reduction of Councillor allowances but then the opposition can see the staggering levels of money spent on 'non-jobs' and can not stand idly back as public money, your money, tax payers money, is frittered into the every groaning pockets of the Conservative administration.

The irony is that the Tories talk the talk on spending your money wisely, but time and again, they are seen severely wanting. Some might even claim that the Tories pay lip-service to the issue, and then continue spending.

Labour stood on a committment in the local election, led by Cllr Paul Godwin, that we would reduce Councillor allowances. A costed and sensible position which could have been universally agreed.

It was not.

Meanwhile, the finance chief Councillor Jarrett, who has been in charge of the finances of the Council accumulating the credit card 'bills' is also, ironically, one of the largest beneficiaries from the allowances and expenses system, some £29,852.

Labour has presented a consistent position.

Not only is our Council credit card spend on marketing above that of other authorities and needs to be justified to the public, but it appears whilst accumulating such sums the Tories are still not walking the walk on their own allowances and expences.

The Medway Tories it would appear are happy to accumulate large 'bills' whilst being paid what some may consider an above fair wage for the pleasure.

Food for thought for people who are struggling with their own personal finances in these austere times

Medway Tory £515,000 expenses tab

An interesting survey from the GMB Union which shows the Medway Conservatives cost the public in Medway more then half a million pounds in take home allowances

A truly staggering sum of money is spent on a Tory political elite which is clearly lapping the cream from the Council Tax payer at quite a rate.

Despite the Tory platitudes on low Council tax and efficiency they are happy to take huge salaries and expenses off the back of hard working Council tax payers across the towns.

In total tax payers are footing a huge bill of £750,000 for all Councillors

The Tories in Medway risk being labelled as exorbitant in what harks back to the worst excesses of the 1980s/1990s

Medway Labour has rightly pledged to cut the Tory cream and cut £100,000 per annum from Councillor allowances immediately.

Medway Labour has a strong record of cutting the cost of local government from the creation of a single tier of government in the late 1990s to the cutting of Councillors to the present day 55 in 2003.

It is time for a change in May. Cutting the Tory fat cat pay perks must be an absolute priority for any incoming administration.

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.

MPs Expenses Revealed - 2010/2011

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority today published the expenses for all MPs from May-August 2010 as part of a drive by Parliament to make our representatives more accountable to their constituents. It was established after the expenses scandal which undermined Parliament in 2009.

IPSA is an independent body which oversee the system and salaries for Members of Parliament. It is accountable to Parliament but is independently monitored.

The full report on each of the Medway MPs can be accessed at the MP Expenses website

From May 2010 - November 2010 the expenses of our MPs are as follows:

Chatham & Aylesford - Tracey Crouch MP - £6,319

Gillingham & Rainham - Rehman Chisthi - £4,758

Rochester & Strood - Mark Reckless MP - £0

It is surprising to see that Mark Reckless MP is one of a very small number of MPs who have not claimed for any expenses. It raises the question about how he is funding his office, given the fact that he has not submitted any receipt for stationary, staffing or office space.

Tracey Crouch MP on the other hand seems to be more expensive than the average Conservative MP, who claimed £6,074. Her largest expense was noted on shared staffing. Would be interesting to note if this was contracted out staffing or whether these are permanent employee costs.

Overall, MPs claimed £3.1m in expenses in the first four months after the general election, including £172,709 on hotels

The highest claimer overall was Keith Simpson, the Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk, who was reimbursed £20,752, followed by Craig Whittaker, the Tory MP for Calder Valley (£18,297.71), and Andrew Bingham, the Conservative MP for High Peak in Derbyshire (£17,348.24)

The smallest individual claim lodged was by Pete Wishart, the SNP MP for Perth & North Perthshire, who claimed 14p mileage, while the biggest single claim published today was made by Labour MP and former government whip Siobhain McDonagh, who spent £9,003 on "bought in office management".

Today's published expenses also show David Cameron claimed £2,408.75 for research services, Bob Russell claimed £82.13 for toilet paper for his constituency office, and the Labour MP Gloria De Piero, an ex-GMTV presenter, claimed £1 for some cleaning gloves from Netto.

Today's figures show the bill for MPs to run constituency and Westminster offices, and for many to run second homes, appears to have shrunk significantly compared with the previous system. A welcome development.

The £3.1m cost for the first four months, which includes the summer break and excludes the biggest bill covering staff salaries, compares with a £96m bill for the whole of last year. It is clear that despite the moans from MPs, the system is cutting costs, and at a time of austerity you will not see any members of the public complaining.