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Nick Harvey MPStanding up for North Devon since 1992 |
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IT TOOK 37 YEARS TO GET IN THIS MESS
May 14, 2009 12:05 PM
Firstly I would like to reassure everyone that I have not claimed to dredge a moat, pay a butler, repair a tennis court, renovate a property or for naughty movies. Nor have I "flipped" my claim between constituency and London: I've always claimed in London. But at the "bath plug" end of the scandal I, like any MP selected for attention, can be embarrassed over details. And the public is rightly so outraged that there is a risk they view the trivial as comparable to the outright scandalous.
Most people understand the need for MPs to run an office, employ staff, have stationery and computers (which all contribute to the local economy), and travel to London. These are relatively uncontentious. What leaves the public genuinely baffled - and furious - is the workings of the second home allowance.
The history is no justification, but may explain a bit. By the 1970s, politics had become more egalitarian with ordinary people - not just the wealthy - becoming MPs. Many Members could not afford central London accommodation, and sleeping in Commons offices became commonplace - you left your waste bin across your door to warn off the cleaners!
So it was agreed that, like other professions reimbursing people sent away on work, MPs needed accommodation paying. Hotel bills became claimable. As years progressed, spending 36 weeks a year living out of a suitcase in a hotel, taking all your things home weekly on the train, became a bind. And renting a flat for 52 weeks was clearly shown to be cheaper than staying in a hotel for 36.
Then as rents got dearer and flats got grottier and further away, MPs realised that a mortgage on a flat much nearer would be cheaper than renting. So from the mid-80s, mortgage interest was permitted, along - in hindsight unwisely - with furnishing and equipping on a par with a rented flat.
My point is that it took 37 years for the Commons to get into this mess. Dramatic change is now undoubtedly needed, but we aren't going to be able to dig ourselves out of the hole in a matter of days.
Elements of these comments were first published in North Devon Journal on 14 May 2009
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