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Fight the old guard over MPs' expenses | Martin Bell

Source: guardian.co.uk Politics

Nov 04, 2009

Summary

Enforcing Sir Christopher Kelly's expenses system reforms will require a tough-minded parliamentary standards authority

Sir Christopher Kelly's proposals for the reform of MPs' expenses are tough, fair, reasonable and eminently workable. It should not have taken the scandals of the past few months to bring our politicians into line with other professions, in which only necessary expenses can be claimed.

The phasing out of the employment of family members gives our MPs plenty of time to take wives, partners and children off the payroll. Even the European parliament, not famous for its honest accounting, does not allow the nepotism that has been practised for years by so many of our honourable members. Of course husbands and wives can be allowed to work together in other walks of life, but not in parliament and at taxpayers' expense. The House of Commons is not Fawlty Towers – though in my time there I was struck by certain resemblances. As the scandals unspooled, it emerged that all the husband and wife teams in the house had difficulty with certain details of t

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