The Funding Scrolls
Next up: Phil Hope
In our continuing effort to document every funding scandal story as it breaks, we note the Telegraph's story that Labour MP Phil Hope has been drawn into the expenses row - for employing family members during the school holidays:
Mr Hope last night admitted that both children have been paid for work in his constituency office - which employs three other full-time staff - but he refused to reveal exact details of how much they received.
The disclosure is likely to embarrass Gordon Brown who last week called on Labour MPs to be open about their staffing expenses after the Tory MP Derek Conway admitted employing his sons while they were at university.
An official inquiry found no evidence of any work being completed for the money.
Mr Hope, who has been MP for Corby since 1997, is one of the most senior figures to be embroiled in the growing furore over MPs' expenses.
On Sunday it emerged that at least 95 Labour MPs including two members of the Cabinet employ members of their family using taxpayer-funded expenses.
The story precisely embodies the ridiculous nature of this debate. If there are 95 Labour MPs employing members of their family, how many Tory MPs are there? And of the 95 MPs, why pick on Phil Hope? Particularly if there are two cabinet members to go after.
It's open season, people. This expenses row has made it easy for journalists. They simply come in, pick their target depending on the political alignment of their newspaper, and start shooting. So far we've not been able to see one sensible suggestion as to how to reform the system. As we've said, one way forward would be to deregulate the whole thing. That's got to be better than letting journalists and Scottish solicitors dictate who should be allowed to spend their day governing, and who has to spend it fending off questions for partisan hacks.
del.icio.us
digg
Facebook
Newsvine
reddit