Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper claim more than £300,000 in allowances

Mr Balls, the Schools Secretary, is one of Gordon Brown's closest allies and a potential future challenger for the Labour leadership. Miss Cooper, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, may be in line for promotion in a summer reshuffle.

In 2007/08, Mr Balls claimed £155,556 in parliamentary allowances and expenses. Miss Cooper claimed £152,659.

Both claims were higher than the average of £144,176.
Together, the couple claimed £24,438 under the Additional Costs Allowance to fund a second home.

They use the money for a house in London which they register as their second home.
They list a house on Mr Balls' Yorkshire seat of Normanton as their primary residence, even though their children attend schools in London.

The Commons Standards and Privileges Committee last year rejected a Tory complaint about the couple's arrangements, saying they had done nothing wrong.

Between them, the couple also claimed more than £4,000 for transporting for their children.
Miss Cooper claimed £2095 for 56 journeys between London and her Pontefract seat. Mr Balls claimed £2010 for 47 journeys.

For their work in Government and in parliament, each of the couple is also paid a salary of £141,866.

Telegraph

That's over £600,000 pounds of our money to pay these greedy cash guzzling corrupt pigs!

They should all be sacked!!

MPs Fiddle While Parliamentary Democracy Burns

At the very least, you might expect Labour MPs to pay attention while they strip this country of its freedoms. But apparently we have gone beyond that stage. Of the eight or nine Labour members on the select committee discussing the Coroners and Justice Bill, three were using the opportunity to go through their correspondence.

Read more...

MPs Defy Judges To Keep Their Expenses Secret

Details of MPs’ claims for plasma televisions, furniture and cleaning bills will be kept secret after Harriet Harman bowed to backbenchers’ pressure to stop expenses claims being published.

MPs are preparing to pass a new law next week that will exempt them from parts of the Freedom of Information Act, meaning that they will never again be forced to publish receipts for their claims, in defiance of an order by the High Court.

This would make MPs the only public sector employees with special privileges to protect them from disclosing their expenses.

Read more...

Anger As Snouts-in-Trough MPs Still Refuse to Publish Expenses

MPs are refusing to publish details of their lavish taxpayer-funded expenses until next summer, prompting accusations of a 'cover-up'.
Commons authorities had promised to release up to two million claims covering money spent on home improvements and furnishings this autumn.
But the Daily Mail has learned that Speaker Michael Martin is expecting to delay opening up the files for scrutiny for almost 12 months.
The figures may be slipped out during September's party conference season when all eyes are away from Westminster.

Read more...

A Copy Of Orwell's 1984 Sent To Every MP

An Internet grass-roots campaign will this week deliver a copy of GeorgeOrwell's prophetic novel 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' to every Member of Parliament.

The books will be inscribed with the words, 'This book was a warning, not ablueprint', and will arrive at Parliament on or before November 5th -- adate of well known historical significance for that building.

Read more...