MPs defend second home expense vote

12:00pm Monday 7th July 2008

Comments (13)   Have your say »

TWO south Essex MPs have defied calls to tighten up their much-criticised £24,000 second home expenses, despite growing public anger.

Basildon Labour MP Angela Smith and Southend West Tory MP David Amess voted to retain the budget to kit out second homes from the so-called "John Lewis list".

Mrs Smith, who is the Prime Minister's Parliamentary Private Secretary, defended her decision and insisted there would now be more control over MPs' expenses.

She said "There will be a spot check of 20 per cent of MPs and proper receipts will have to be provided, as with businesses when employees are paid expenses.

"I was unhappy with the other proposal before us of a daily allowance figure."

Mark Francois (Con, Rayleigh), Andrew Mackinlay (Lab, Thurrock) and John Baron (Con, Billericay) were not in the chamber for the vote.

Bob Spink, Ukip MP for Castle Point, voted in both lobbies - once to retain the cost allowance and the other to remove it.

He said: "This is the only way you can formally record an abstention - to show you were in the House at the time but were not going to vote.

"I have always argued MPs should not set their own salary levels and we should not be paid expenses. I think what I did was entirely consistent with this view."

James Duddridge (Con, Rochford and Southend East) was in the house, but did not vote.

He said: "I did not go into politics for the money and I think the whole issue should be dealt with by an independent tribunal.

"It is wrong we should be talking and voting on our own pay."

All the south Essex MPs have second homes in the capital.

The House of Commons vote also killed off moves to subject MPs' allowances to external audits following recent scandals.

But MPs approved a new programme to get bigger and better constituency offices at an additional cost to the taxpayer of up to £3.2 million every year.

The package retaining the so-called "John Lewis list", of household items and property improvements, was backed mainly by Labour MPs. But more than half of MPs - including Mr Brown and chancellor Alistair Darling - stayed away from the Commons for the contentious vote.

It marked the culmination of a "root and branch" review undertaken by a top Commons committee, after the scope for abuse of the £90million allowances regime was laid bare earlier this year.

However, Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "By clinging on to the plasma screen TVs and luxury kitchens allowed by the John Lewis list they have shown astonishing arrogance and disregard for people's concerns.

"When people come to vote at the next election they will remember how their local MP voted because it indicates how concerned they are about how taxpayers' money is spent and whether they understand the pressure faced by ordinary families."