Expenses again
May 22, 2009 1:57 PM
Over again in the media we hear the public accusing ALL politicians of exploiting loopholes in the expenses system and of being 'on the make'. That is understandable but not true, & not fair on those who HAVE distinguished between what is allowed by the rules and what is nonetheless improper.Liberal Democrats, in the House of Commons, the House of Lords and in the European Parliament have an enviable record in terms of the integrity of their expenses claims. Rigorous internal disciplinary procedures already exist within our parliamentary parties, overseen by the Chief Whips. However there is always room for improvement. Consequently the Liberal Democrat Party President, Baroness Ros Scott, and Leader, Nick Clegg have today announced the following policy:
1. There will be a code of conduct binding on Liberal Democrat parliamentarians and candidates.
2. All Liberal Democrat MPs will support the proposals from Sir Christopher Kelly's review of MPs' expenses. There will be no picking and choosing of which of his recommendations to support.
3. Our leader and Chief Whip in the House of Lords will undertake a thorough review of expenses and allowances in the House of Lords.
4. We will end the self-regulation of Parliament.
5. Any Liberal Democrat MP found to have committed serious wrongdoing will have the whip withdrawn and be referred by the party to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
It is very clear that on the issue of expenses, as on that of the Speaker and the Gurkhas, Liberal Democrats are the ones taking the lead on calling for the radical overhaul that our political system needs.
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