Chris Bowers

MPs' expenses

Ha, that got you interested!  There has been so much talk about MPs’ expenses and how they abuse them, that I felt it only right to make a small comment on the subject.

To me, expenses are expenses.  In other words, they are costs you incur for things that are part of your job.  I have absolutely no time for the idea that expenses are a quiet way of topping up your income.  You accept your salary, and any additional income from your employer should be for out-of-pocket expenses legitimately incurred.  Therefore, there is no excuse for raking money in at the taxpayer’s expense just because a loophole allows you to claim for an expense you aren’t actually incurring.  As a councillor, I am allowed to claim certain expenses, but in my 32 months as a district councillor I have claimed for just one item: a toner cartridge for my printer.

Some people say the way round this is to stop MPs claiming expenses, or even to reduce their salary.  I would urge a little caution here.

MPs range from those London members who could walk or cycle to Westminster to those in the Highlands, islands and Northern Ireland for whom juggling attendance in Parliament and representing their constituency requires a lot of travelling and expense.  Therefore, there has to be a system where some people will require more funding than others.  And that system will always have borderline cases, which are in theory open to abuse.  We just have to make sure the system is fair and transparent, which it isn’t at present.

As for salaries, MPs currently get around £64,000 a year, which is well above what many people would consider reasonable.  We could reduce that to £30,000, but my fear is that we would get a lower quality of MP overall.  If we want the good people to represent us and make decisions on our behalf, we have to make sure they aren’t going to be put off by a salary they could easily improve on elsewhere.  And while there are some bad apples in every barrel, the majority of MPs are in it for the right reasons, and work very hard for vastly over 40 hours a week.  I think they’re worth £63,000, as long as they don’t think they can supplement that with bogus expenses claims.

My friend and colleague Norman Baker (pictured) has shown it can be done.  He has acted scrupulously within the rules, and also within the spirit of the rules.  This has earned him a lot of respect, as well as the backhanded compliment of 'the least unpopular MP in Britain'! 

As for myself, 64 grand would represent a step up from what I’m earning now, but not such a massive one that my motivation to become your MP is financial.  As an MP for the south-east, I would require fewer expenses than most – I might look to have a pad in London where I could base myself for a couple of nights a week, but we’re talking about a modest base, not a second home as big as my main home.  The satisfaction of being an MP is to know you can represent people and help improve the governance of our country – it should be nothing to do with money.  I hope I have the wisdom to recognise this, both now and in the future when I hope to be your MP.