Can anyone point me to a league table of the recently published MPs' "expenses" that is disaggregated?
I'm fed up with seeing "expenses" figures that - with the implication from the media that the total figure is a huge claim for lunches and overseas jollies - lump together travel etc. (it's usually higher for Scottish MPs, there's a shock - a problem easily solved by relocating Parliament several hundred miles north) with postage (which is an indicator of whether they do any work in their constituency - or at least work that involves envelopes, letters and stamps).
We need a separate list of who sends how many letters. Then the whips - and the electorate - should start asking the ones who aren't spending much on postage a) how they deal with casework and b) how they communicate with the people they represent. I would be interested to hear their excuses.
It would also be good to expose the ones who aren't paying their staff a decent wage.
You will find a fully disaggregated file here, sorted by size of total expenses. Diane and Madge come very near the bottom of the pile, with Chipmunk and Handbag Lady very near the top. Well there's a surprise.
ReplyDeleteYou want to focus on the low spenders!!! Did you know that expenditure and responsiveness are correlated? Negatively correlated. Check out this list which shows that many of the most expensive MPs such as Malik are the least responsive and vice-versa (e.g. Phil Hollobone)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I can't get that link to work. This one does.
To cut out rubbish reporting and also abuses (whilst aiding proper usuage) we need a new system on MPs expenses. See this thread -
ReplyDeletehttp://chrispaul-labouroflove.blogspot.com/2007/10/mps-expenses-is-standardisation-way.html