MP Told to Say Sorry & Pay Up
From the DT website:
“Chesterfield MP Paul Holmes has been ordered to apologise and repay money after breaching Commons’ rules over a windfall payment relating to his second home.
Toby Perkins, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Chesterfield, claimed many local people would feel that Paul Holmes had got off “very lightly” by only having to repay a quarter of the money he received.”
Just read the complete article with the link to the Derbyshire Times.
As far as the whole expenses saga goes, I feel this was one of the more straight forward decisions for an MP to have made on his expenses. Unfortunately Mr Holmes decided to pocket the massive payment of £9,950, without it seems even considering asking the Parliamentary Fees Office for their advice on whether it was OK to keep it. (Was this because he knew they would recommend him not to keep it?!)
Isn’t this clear cut? The tax payer pays his rent on his 2nd home, therefore any money he receives back should be used towards his future rent. It is clear this money should never have been treated as a personal windfall, yet he is quoted feeling ‘completely comfortable’ in pocketing it and has even tried to muddy the waters by trying to compare it with payments made to MPs who have mortgaged second homes and claim the mortgage interest.
Of course he wasn’t the only MP who took money to move out of Dolphin Square (and I hope the voters show their displeasure on all of them in the forth coming general election), but one point this article failed to mention; he was the only MP in the whole of Parliament who had the brass neck to actually move back in there a few months later!
What I would like to know is how can the Lib Dems of Chesterfield justify voting for Mr Holmes after this? I voted Lib Dem in 2005, but not this time! Is it too late to de-select him and give one of the up and coming Lib Dem Councillors like Councillor Higginbottom a crack at the whip?