Jacqui Smith's expenses

[Doggy Styles]

She might be a Labour MP, but it is still called Tory sleaze.

[Mich the Tester]

To put it this way - could you imagine the inland revenue letting me expense my mortgage & home bills if I happened to be staying with my brother for 4 nights of the week.

That depends whether you or your brother's a member of the Labour party.

[dinker]

Female labour MP? No chance the BBC will follow this up.

[BoredBloke]

I can't understand why more isn't being made of this and why people are not jumping up and down over it. Firstly we have the MP's expenses for a second home which is open to abuse on a massive scale. If I work away from home and rent a 2nd home I cannot furnish it with all the nice things I have at my first home and get them as a tax free gift. But these are the rules the MP's have voted for themselves.

What she has done is take it to the next stage. She is living with her sister and paying a tiny rent but using her 2nd home allowence to pay the bills on her first home. This has to be wrong. If she had rented a place in London and charged expenses for that then ok but what she is doing is supplementing her income by charging expenses to her primary home.

The simple fact is - her second home is the one in London - by definition it should be the place the MP needs to use to carry out their duties in Westminster. Her main house simply is not this. What should be done is she should be made to refund all the money she has claimed over the years less the amount she has paid in rent and bills while staying at her sisters house.

To put it this way - could you imagine the inland revenue letting me expense my mortgage & home bills if I happened to be staying with my brother for 4 nights of the week.

[Ruprect]

Her "second" home - the one where all her family lives

[BrilloPad]

More allegations as (brave) neighbours speak up:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle5762376.ece

Surely this could force a resignation (I hope so)? Not that any of this cabinet have the dignity or cojones to actually go do it.

parliament

HTH

[Pondlife]

£116000 of taxpayers money in expenses. £116000.

Jeez, you try sticking that on your tax return and see how long it takes before hector comes knocking.

£116K over SIX years! So an average of about 20K per year.

More quality journalism from the beeb.

Edit: I'm not defending her claiming somewhere she stays 2-3 nights a week as her main home.

[Ruprect]

£116000 of taxpayers money in expenses. £116000.

Jeez, you try sticking that on your tax return and see how long it takes before hector comes knocking.

[lilelvis2000]

There's something about being Home Office Secretary and Corruption. How many recent Home Office Secretary's have resigned in the past few years?

They think that because the control the police that they can do what they like.

Lets see what stalinist diabtribes she comes out with now..

[Chugnut]

More allegations as (brave) neighbours speak up:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle5762376.ece

Surely this could force a resignation (I hope so)? Not that any of this cabinet have the dignity or cojones to actually go do it.

inspiring

From the article: -

"They said that the presence of a police officer outside the house was no guide to when she was at home."

Utter gonads, shirley?

[Ruprect]

More allegations as (brave) neighbours speak up:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle5762376.ece

Surely this could force a resignation (I hope so)? Not that any of this cabinet have the dignity or cojones to actually go do it.