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[kevyn]

I doff my hat to you Mr Shapps.
You don't claim for a second home and your expense claims are one of the lowest in the trough-feeding pig farm. (maybe that descriptive was a bit harsh)
Because of this, you've actualy restored my faith in our local MP. One question is begging to be asked, will you continue to be honourable with our hard-earned when you're elected?
It just appears that every MP only does the job to rinse the hard working taxpayer of our money.
Tax, tax, tax....... At least we have one MP that doesn't milk us folks.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/grant_shapps/welwyn_hatfield#expenses

[Mighty Hatfield]

Grants absolutely minted so i wouldnt worry about it too much 

[kevyn]

Much like his leader then.. ha ha. I wonder if it's a pre-requisite that you have to be minted or a toff to be a conservative? I know they are so why are so many of them robbing us? And i wonder why Grant has never voted on a more transparent parliament, isn't that what his voters and the public want? Questions, questions.. :-)

[shapps]

Hi Kevyn,

Thanks for spotting the table on expenses on TheyWorkForYou.com above. I didn't know they listed it there and the data that the House of Commons publishes is so difficult to view.

The reason that I don't claim for a second home is because I don't have more than the one home. I think I'm right in saying that all my predecessors did opt for a second home in London, but it always seemed to me that if I was to get to see my young family then I'd rather get home. And in addition, previous Welwyn Hatfield Members of Parliament seemed to lose their way after they perhaps lost track of what was happening in the constituency. Returning each night makes that much harder.

In fact, it's 11:35pm and I've just got home from Westminster as I write, having shown 120 Welwyn Hatfield residents around the Houses of Parliament this evening after doing a Question and Answer session with them. One of the group has promised to write it up for this Forum so you can read more about that soon.

Back to expenses. My attitude to spending money on expenses has been rather influenced from starting up a small business. Someone once told me that you should never have to buy a paperclip in business. Why? Because people send them attached to documents in the post all the time. All you need to do is remember to save them and you'll have a lifetime supply. Not sure that this quite works out, but I took the point and tried to run my printing business efficiently and this idea seems even more relevant when spending other people's money. And we do actually save paperclips in my Westminster office as a direct result!

I don't think I've ever been called a toff before by the way. I was educated in State schools, have never had private health insurance, my kids go to the local primary. I did take a bit of a gamble and started my own printing biz during the recession of the early 90's and I know what it's like to employ people, lie awake at night and worry about both the overdraft and whether I'd be able to meet their salary bill each month. Like a lot of people in Welwyn Hatfield, I've tried to work hard, have taken a few risks and, most of all, like to be busy. My parents did exactly the same thing. They've only just retired from the photographic equipment business they started together. I think my dad finally retired at about 75 yrs old. My father in law still gets up at 4am each day because he's cabbie in Manchester, where my wife is from.  I know it's always easier to pigeon hole everyone. Tory so obvious a toff or whatever, but I don't think anything in my background really qualifies me or my family for the title.

Good night.
Grant.

[kevyn]

No mention of the vote then Grant?  I must say you're good at dodging the rounds Mr Shapps  Typical MP, bullet-proof! Could of done with you when the Iron Lady sent me to the falklands.. Now there was a woman. The only PM that didn't kiss anyones butt, called a spade a spade and stuck up for her country. More balls than some of the men who refused to fight for our Queen and country with us. lousy policies though. Oh to have another PM like that...

[Lid]

Interesting - I did not rate Margaret Thatcher at all. As to the Falklands, although I of course support our military personnel, as a nation I felt we showed ourselves as quite unprepared, small, cumbersome and slow to react from an armed forces perspective. Indeed at the time I was training to be a pilot in the Royal Air Force and most people did not even know what the Falklands were when the predicated Argentinian takeover happened.

[shapps]

No mention of the vote then Grant?  I must say you're good at dodging the rounds Mr Shapps  Typical MP, bullet-proof! Could of done with you when the Iron Lady sent me to the falklands.. Now there was a woman. The only PM that didn't kiss anyones butt, called a spade a spade and stuck up for her country. More balls than some of the men who refused to fight for our Queen and country with us. lousy policies though. Oh to have another PM like that...

Sorry, meant to say. I every occasion where there's been a vote on pay, I've voted for the lowest possible option.

Actually, contrary to what most people would think. MPs have voted themselves below inflation increases for 9 of the past 10 years. In recent times an independent pay review body has made a recommendation on MPs pay, which MPs have rejected and voted themselves a lower pay rise. As I say, I've always voted for the lowest figure on the order paper. But I do think that expenses have been allowed to rise and that second home allowance has been abused by some.

Incidentally, 2 or 3 yrs back Labour voted in a completely new allowance called the Communications Allowance. It's £10,000 per annum. Most Tories voted against it, but the government have the majority and it went through.  We're pledged to scrap this allowance if we win power.

[MikeHobday]

Incidentally, 2 or 3 yrs back Labour voted in a completely new allowance called the Communications Allowance. It's £10,000 per annum. Most Tories voted against it, but the government have the majority and it went through.  We're pledged to scrap this allowance if we win power.

While still claiming £4,444 under it the meantime?

[shapps]

Incidentally, 2 or 3 yrs back Labour voted in a completely new allowance called the Communications Allowance. It's £10,000 per annum. Most Tories voted against it, but the government have the majority and it went through.  We're pledged to scrap this allowance if we win power.

While still claiming £4,444 under it the meantime?

Some of what would have previously been posted into the Incidental Expenditure Provision now gets automatically posted into this communications allowance.  In the year just reported that ate up 44% of that allowance, in the yr just gone, but yet to be reported, I've actually used even less of it.  The key is reducing the available overall spend to MPs and that's why we're pledged to reduce the allowances, starting with the axing of this Communications Allowance and then reducing the number of MPs in the House of Commons too.

Most MPs use this communications allowance to print their own newsletters at taxpayers expense. As you know, I print most of my newsletters myself out of my own pocket and at no cost to the taxpayer.

Grant.

[Mighty Hatfield]

perhaps if we only let very wealthy MPs into parliament, then none of them would ever claim expenses.
 
Is this a parliament we want though?

[KG Hatfield]

perhaps if we only let very wealthy MPs into parliament, then none of them would ever claim expenses.

Of course they would still claim - how do you think they became rich in the first place?

[kevyn]

To be fair to Mr Shapps, he was minted before he became our MP. As for the other trough-feeders though....
I'm a printer service engineer for the biggy printers and i know it's not easy running that kind of business so fair play to him for not milking us in this current climate.

[jonmorris]

How do so many people know he is minted? Has he given out his online banking details accidentally so the general public can look?!

[MikeHobday]

Incidentally, 2 or 3 yrs back Labour voted in a completely new allowance called the Communications Allowance. It's £10,000 per annum. Most Tories voted against it, but the government have the majority and it went through.  We're pledged to scrap this allowance if we win power.

While still claiming £4,444 under it the meantime?

Some of what would have previously been posted into the Incidental Expenditure Provision now gets automatically posted into this communications allowance.  In the year just reported that ate up 44% of that allowance, in the yr just gone, but yet to be reported, I've actually used even less of it.  The key is reducing the available overall spend to MPs and that's why we're pledged to reduce the allowances, starting with the axing of this Communications Allowance and then reducing the number of MPs in the House of Commons too.

I'm just trying to understand this, Grant.

You've used £4,444 of an allowance you disapprove of, on the apparent basis that this would, under your proposed scheme, be classified as "Incidental Expenses Provision"?

I'm not sure how this works, because you've already spent above the maximum on your incidental expenses, even before £4,444 has been allocated to your communications allowance.

I'm certainly not suggesting you're breaking the rules, just querying why you spend £4,444 of public money on a scheme you disapprove of? Perhaps I'm missing something?

[kevyn]

Isn't it a labour mp that made us hard working taxpayers pay for her husbands porn and a bathplug? Damned cheek of it! Can i send my NTL bill to the Labour HQ up at the hilltop for them to pay it? Why not? you spongers do that to me!