‘The Freedom of Information Act 2000’ is an Act of Parliament that came in to force in January 2005. It introduces a public "right to know" in relation to public bodies and gives any person the legal right to ask for and be given any information which is held by a public authority. Any person can request information under the act and this has led to the wide-scale uproar, of the scandal of MP’s expenses (well let’s call it theft, because let’s be honest, that’s what it is) to hit the news over the past month. This had allowed for the things many MP’s have claimed for out of the tax payer’s money has finally come to light. Inevitably, this has led to some controversial, and in some cases, strange but nonetheless illegal claims by many MP’s showing an abuse of the money paid by taxpayers.
This questions the ability and honesty of those who are meant to be running our country and representing us. However, as Politians normally do, they seemed to have wiggled their way out of their act of fraud. They have done this either by hiding in the shadows of the somewhat oblivious Parliament or one-by-one repaying the money they owe despite many arguing that they acted ‘perfectly within their rights’. However, this begs the question of what would happen to a ‘normal’ citizen of society if they carried out this illegal act? MP’s seem to not only escape with their jobs and £65K a year salary but also without facing a prison sentence. However, if a ‘normal’ citizen carried out those acts it would be classed as fraud and not only would they most likely lose their job; they would be reported to the police and even sent to prison. Despite the laws of the judicial system and the fact MP’s are meant to set an example to the society they represent, they seem to have a ‘get out of jail free card’ because of their strategic position in society. Are we now living in a contradictory society?
Not only are MP’s abusing their position as representatives of the citizens of the UK and their role within Parliament, they are also taking advantage of their constituent’s taxes!
Just a few examples of the outrageous things claimed include; the West Suffolk MP Richard Spring spending £39 on buying copies of the Racing Post in April and May 2008! Labour's Stephen Pound spending £500 on a season ticket for his local football club Hanwell Town! And East Devon MP Hugo Swire’s claim for a £327.94 digital camera from Harrods! To add insult to injury, he actually bought two more in the same year. But it’s ok because Mr. Swire explained that he likes to carry one in his briefcase and also have one in his office and one at home… as you do.
If you would like to see more, the 20 Worst Cover-ups can be found at weblink on this news page.
Parliament has gone one step further however by publishing the expenses claims of every MP for the past four years in PDF files on its website. Of course there is a catch; some key details are blacked out such as MPs' addresses, bank details and also receipts published for the first time. This is because MP’s voted to exempt their addresses from the publication on security grounds, but was avoiding embarrassment the key motivating factor? The fact that addresses are not included means it is impossible to see if an MP has claimed for several different properties by flipping second homes (the practice of buying an asset and quickly reselling it for profit), a key part of many revelations which, ironically, is the only way to police effectively whether there is a second home and whether the mortgage exists.
Maurice Frankel, of the ‘Campaign for Freedom of Information’, said partial postcodes could have been published, which would show if MPs were changing their designated second homes. A simple and intelligent suggestion you thought MP’s would have thought of? But Sir Stuart Bell, a Labour MP, said it was right that some details were protected and he said the publication was "a remarkable achievement in terms of technology and in terms of being open with the public and what is blacked out is private information.” A remarkable achievement in technology it is indeed, much like all those new cameras.
So how do you feel about this, as a citizen of the state whose family pays taxes, or perhaps you even pay taxes yourself, to have your money abused in such a way? Do you think MP’s should be removed from Parliament? Or do you feel it should go further and MP’s should be more severely punished such as sending them to prison for fraud and theft? After all, you and I are the constituents, I’m sure any of our views, opinions and thoughts will be processed, acknowledged and reflected by our MP’s…?!