When I read the following, I think of all those individuals and families in modestly- and low-paid jobs, who still pay tax, and I get really quite angry. Perhaps it is due to my ordinary upbringing and my personal knowledge of family and family friends who are not well-off, but who are apparently still funding this:
Lynne Jones, the far-Left Labour MP, billed the taxpayer more than £1,100 for upmarket Farrow & Ball wallpaper as part of a redecoration programme at her second home in London.
Miss Jones, a leading member of the Socialist Campaign Group founded by supporters of Tony Benn, gave her Lambeth flat a £22,000 facelift which also included £6,100 for a new bathroom, £600 for Persian rugs and £518 for an LCD television.
Almost £7,000 of claims for painting and decorating, furnishings and a new boiler were paid out after the date in 2007 when Miss Jones announced her intention to stand down as MP for Birmingham Selly Oak at the next general election.
via MPs’ expenses: Lynne Jones claimed £1,000 for wallpaper – Telegraph.
We have all had enough. It is time for immediate reform, fresh candidates, a general election and yet more reform, pushed by a new team who feel the burning indignation of the public.
In the meantime, I’m off to do some work for the Centre for Social Justice. I need to remind myself why we must press on and fix not just the expenses system but society itself.
