Second Standards MP in Expenses Row
A second MP from the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee - has been caught up in the seemingly never ending scandal of MPs' expenses.
Hot on the heels of David Curry - a Tory MP and Chair of the Standards and Privileges Committee who stood down from his post last week - comes Andrew Dismore, the Labour MP for Hendon.
The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that:
"Andrew Dismore claimed £34,000 in second home expenses for a west London flat, which houses his girlfriend’s homeopathy surgery, while designating a property just a few miles away in his north London constituency as his main home.
Mr Dismore then “flipped” his second home designation to the north London property and claimed a further £31,000 after telling Commons officials that the west London flat had become his main residence.
In total, the Labour MP for Hendon split £65,000 in second home allowances between the two London properties over an eight-year period. He also used more than £1,000 in office expenses to pay his girlfriend to do casual work for him."
The Standards and Privileges Committee decides what sanctions or penalties to impose on MPs - who behave badly or break the rules of the House of Commons.
In recent months, the committee has treated two MPs very leniently indeed - Jacqui Smith and Tony McNulty - despite the fact that both are former government ministers - who were required to apologise to the House of Commons over their expenses claims.
See previous posts dated 13 October 2009 - Home Sweet (Designated) Home - and 29 October 2009 - Savaged By a Dead Sheep.
The public can't have confidence in a system that allows MPs to sit in judgment of themselves - no other professional group in society is allowed to behave in this way.
What's needed is an injection of common sense from non-politicians and lay people - from the ordinary man or woman in the street - then we might actually see some change for the better.
Hot on the heels of David Curry - a Tory MP and Chair of the Standards and Privileges Committee who stood down from his post last week - comes Andrew Dismore, the Labour MP for Hendon.
The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that:
"Andrew Dismore claimed £34,000 in second home expenses for a west London flat, which houses his girlfriend’s homeopathy surgery, while designating a property just a few miles away in his north London constituency as his main home.
Mr Dismore then “flipped” his second home designation to the north London property and claimed a further £31,000 after telling Commons officials that the west London flat had become his main residence.
In total, the Labour MP for Hendon split £65,000 in second home allowances between the two London properties over an eight-year period. He also used more than £1,000 in office expenses to pay his girlfriend to do casual work for him."
The Standards and Privileges Committee decides what sanctions or penalties to impose on MPs - who behave badly or break the rules of the House of Commons.
In recent months, the committee has treated two MPs very leniently indeed - Jacqui Smith and Tony McNulty - despite the fact that both are former government ministers - who were required to apologise to the House of Commons over their expenses claims.
See previous posts dated 13 October 2009 - Home Sweet (Designated) Home - and 29 October 2009 - Savaged By a Dead Sheep.
The public can't have confidence in a system that allows MPs to sit in judgment of themselves - no other professional group in society is allowed to behave in this way.
What's needed is an injection of common sense from non-politicians and lay people - from the ordinary man or woman in the street - then we might actually see some change for the better.
