Disabled People ‘Back In The Firing Line’ On Cuts

When Parliament was rocked by the expenses scandal in 2009, politicians pledged to clean up their act. But 14 years on, how much has actually changed?

This week, an investigation by openDemocracy revealed a £180m spending bonanza, with politicians charging taxpayers for a litany of controversial claims.

Among them, we found that a peer had claimed £18,000 just for turning up to the House of Lords, despite not speaking or voting in the chamber, and that MPs have been billing us for huge sums to heat their second homes, while ordinary Brits struggle with spiralling energy costs.

We found that, over the past three years, MPs have splurged £1.1m of taxpayer money on private PR firms offering to boost their “personal brand” and “incumbency”. Politicians also claimed for business class flights and personal photoshoots, while others claimed tens of thousands of pounds on London hotels rather than simply catching the train.

Get our free Daily Email
Get one whole story, direct to your inbox every weekday.

Sign up now
Incredibly, none of the cases we reported on are against the rules.

Despite some important reforms to the system after 2009, a culture of omertà prevails in Westminster. Most political leaders choose to avoid talking about MPs’ expenses altogether, for fear that one of their allies will be exposed and embarrassed.

Last month, for instance, Labour launched an attack on the Tories over “lavish” spending by government departments. But the party has remained silent about openDemocracy’s investigation, which covers MPs and peers from all political parties.

Our findings come as MPs are set for another pay rise next month, bringing their wages up to £86,584 – while many still rake in extra cash from second jobs.

MPs have splurged £1.1m of taxpayer money on PR firms offering to boost their ‘personal brand’ and ‘incumbency’

It would be disingenuous to suggest that nothing has changed since 2009. Back then, MPs were caught claiming expenses for duck houses, porn videos and the cost of cleaning out the moat of a country estate. After the scandal broke, more than half of MPs agreed to pay back the money and a new expenses watchdog was set up, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).

But the truth is that Westminster’s expenses system is still in need of major reforms. Too often the rules are lax, allowing politicians to claim for things that seem excessive, unreasonable, or ethically questionable.

In some ways, we have actually gone backwards. For instance, before the expenses scandal, there was an explicit ban on using taxpayer money for “advice for individual members on self-promotion, or PR for individuals”. But this line is not included in the current rulebook. Indeed, our investigation suggests that spending on PR services is rife and that IPSA does not even check the content created – using our money – by private contractors.

A report by Sir Thomas Legg, the independent auditor, showed that abuse of the system was far more widespread than the few "bad apples" blamed initially for the scandal.

A total of 381 MPs will be forced to pay back an average of £3,000 after the review criticised politicians for putting personal gain before protecting public money. More than £1?million will be repaid in the wake of the expenses scandal uncovered by The Daily Telegraph.

Barbara Follett, the Local Government Minister, faced the highest demand for repayment — more than £40,000. Andrew MacKay, David Heathcoat-Amory, Douglas Hogg and Alan Milburn were all also forced to make five-figure repayments.

Senior MPs said yesterday that a general election was now needed to rid Parliament of dozens of politicians found to have abused their expenses. Up to half of the 646 MPs were expected to be replaced amid widespread public disgust.