Alan Duncan: MP's have to "live on rations".

[T_i_B]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6017465/Alan-Duncan-accused-of-hypocrisy-over-MPs-expenses-rations-gaffe.html

Alan Duncan, the Conservative frontbencher, has been accused of hypocrisy after he was secretly filmed complaining about MPs' reduced standard of living following the expenses scandal.

The protester involved, Heydon Prowse, an activist, recorded Mr Duncan complaining: "No one who has done anything in the outside world, or is capable of doing such a thing, will ever come into this place ever again, the way we are going. Basically, it's being nationalised. You have to live on rations and are treated like s---. I spend my money on my garden and claim a tiny fraction on what is proper. And I could claim the whole ------ lot, but I don't."

Mr Prowse, 28, a former child actor, was invited to the Commons in June after a video in which he was shown digging a pound sign into the MP's lawn became an internet hit.

"We went along because his press people put out a statement saying that he wouldn't mind meeting us," he said. "I think they wanted him to come across as a good sport. There seemed to be a prevalent attitude in the House of Commons that it had all been a bit of a hoo-ha but now it had all blown over. They don't seem to understand that people are really angry."

[oldironside]

1. This is absolutely priceless...

... they get 64 grand for a job they see as part time, 95% of them were caught shamelessly milking the expenses system for all they were worth (wouldn't you like your employer to provide you with a nice fish pond for your stately home? Or multiple plasma screen TVs?) and this idiot has the sheer brass neck to whine about it. As Stanley Holloway said in The Way Ahead:
"Only one decent bloke ever got into Parliament. Bleeding Guy Fawkes."

[T_i_B]

2. Yep

Alan Duncan was caught abusing the system. He clearly feels no remorse for what he's done and he claerly has little idea of how the rest of us live. Yet Cameron still won't get rid of him. Kinda goes to show that the political parties are too busy protecting their favourites to really put their houses in order.

IMHO we need to introduce recall elections so the electorate can hold them to account for this sort of thing.

http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/recall/

[LeftishBrit]

3. Of course Cameron won't get rid of him; he was just acting according to Tory philosophy

Which has also pervaded the other parties, but is naked and blatant in the Tories especially since Thatcherism totally replaced the code of Being a Gentleman with Being a Cowboy Entrepreneur.

Torynomics follows the philosophy of I'm All Right Jack; The Devil Take the Hindmost; You're a Fool if You Don't Cut Corners; Why Should We Care About the Peasants, It's Their Fault they Haven't Made Themselves Rich Like Us.

The one thing you can say about Duncan and his like among the Tories is that they're not hypocrites in the same way as Labourites who do the same things. They are practicing the repellent stuff that they preach - Thatcherism in action!

I really doubt that recall elections would change much in this way- they would just be used by the tabloids and British 'teabaggers' to get rid of anyone too left-wing or even moderate.

But I think that if Duncan and such people do decide to leave Parliament because the pickings aren't good enough, well, good riddance to bad rubbish! In fact, I think that MPs should get a decent salary and pension, but *no* expenses (except in very unusual cases); their salary should be seen as including expenses. This in itself might deter those who want to be MPs because it's a way of having a cushy life on our taxes. This may have other spin-offs - MPs who think that 'greed is good' for themselves may also think that it's good for the nation, and the fewer such MPs the better!

[oldironside]

4. Duncan and his ilk will be loath to leave parliament...

... because they love having their egos stroked by the idea that everything they say or do actually matters. The desire to feel self important is almost as dear to them as the desire to be very, very rich. I'd be willing to bet that every single one of the fondly imagines a statue of themselves being put up inside Parliament next to Churchill, Attlee, Thatcher or whoever. The gravy train has stopped and they are actually going to have to choose between genuine public service or milking whatever directorships or other contacts they have in the outside world.

As a life long Labour supporter I hate the bloody Tories as much as anyone and find their whole spiv philosophy repulsive. I must however also say that I'm equally disgusted with the Parliamentary Labour Party. This used to be a party with a soul. The party of Nye Bevan, John Smith, Jim Callaghan, Tony Benn, Barbara Castle - people with a genuine thirst for social justice.

As you say, good riddance to bad rubbish. Most of the current PLP will be gone after the next election, one way or another. Parliament is not there to provide rich pickings for a few idle self important scroungers. That's what the civil list is for. Parliament is supposed to be there to govern the country in the interests of the people. Or am I just being naive?

[T_i_B]

5. There are big hypocrisy issues for the Tories here

For one thing the treatment of Alan Duncan is noticeably more lenient then the treatment of Anthony Steen, who was caught mouthing off in similar fashion. Why let off Alan Duncan when other less favoured MP's get forced out?

And for another thing there is the Tories attitude towards anyone else receiving money from the State. The people who are happy to sponge off the taxpayer on MP's expenses are the very same ones who make squeal like stuck pigs about the state helping people in genuine need via social security. I wonder how the likes of Alan Duncan would like to live on JSA?

[oldironside]

6. “A conservative government is an organized hypocrisy”.

according to Disraeli. Plus ça change, plus c'est la meme chose.

[LeftishBrit]

7. I was being a bit sarcastic

I agree that hypocrisy is rampant among the Tories. My point was basically that 'one law for the rich, another for the poor' and 'greed is good' are practically official Tory policy, so we can hardly be surprised when they personally put such ideas into practice!