Yet again we have had a week of news stories about MPs expenses, Margaret Beckett was seen on BBCs Question Time trying to justify her claim for hanging baskets, it’s OK though as she said it was a mistake and she would give the money back, and we are just supposed to accept that and do nothing more?

If Margaret Beckett was caught walking out of a supermarket with a bag full of shopping that she haden’t paid for, how do you think the Judge would  react to her excuse that she had made a mistake?

Our politicians need to be honest and decent people, offering to pay back money they have obtained by fraud is just not good enough, anyone who has “made a mistake” where they have benefited financially should be sacked, there is no other occupation that would accept this, and as their employers there is no reason why we should accept this.

The only way to put an end to this disgraceful behaviour is to vote for someone who is not already a part of this establishment of sleaze, it is time to make our voices (and our votes) count and vote for the Jury Team, independent candidates from outside of the political establishment.

It seems that Gordon Brown thinks that the best way to deal with the expenses row is to just give cash to all MPs, under new proposals MPs will receive a daily payment for just turning up, no receipts, no checks and balances, just cash straight into their pockets; and he call this progress.

Currently the second home allowance is worth a whopping £23,000 a year to an MP, although MP’s do have to provide some receipts to substantiate their claims; the new system that Gordon proposes to replace the second homes allowance will see £170 per day going to MPs, with no need for receipts or any form of evidence of expense incurred, this adds up to a potential additional income of £25,500 a year for every MP. Well done Gordon you have just proposed a huge wage rise for all MPs, and you expect us to believe this is in our best interests.

It is obvious to everyone that the second homes allowance is open to widespread abuse, but changing it for a free cash giveaway is not the answer, but I suppose it is what we have come to expect from our self serving politicians.

I would think that the solution is obvious, MPs need to be re-imbursed for legitimate expenses, these expenses can be easily defined as the cost of accommodation close to Westminster if their normal residence is more than 30 miles from Westminster, this immediately cuts out claims for their main residence and lays down strict limits.

We must end this culture of sleaze where MPs believe it is normal to bend the rules for their own financial gain, so anyone that receives a Grace and Favour residence immediately loses the right to claim the second home allowance.

Expenses are not income, they should not be used to make a profit, so if an MP wants to purchase a second home near Westminster they should be able to claim back only the interest portion of their mortgage, not the full payment on a repayment mortgage, not stamp duty and certainly not legal fees.

If an MP was to rent a furnished apartment near Westminster I would have no problem with that MP being able to claim back that rent up to the current limits, however if that MP decided to purchase an apartment of house then I can see no reason why the taxpayer should be asked to furnish the house or pay for any repairs or renovations.

The rules should be simple, a common sense approach giving MPs a strict set of rules, administered by an independent body, with the guiding principles of fairness to the tax payer and no financial gain to the MP.

Only when we vote people in to office who truly believe in these principles will the system change for the better, these problems exsist not just in the House of Commons but also in the European Parliament, we need real change now, help me to make that change by using your vote in the European Elections and vote for an independent candidate.

A British member of the European Parliament has been charged with false accounting and money laundering.

Tom Wise, 60, from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, was elected for UKIP in 2004 but is now sitting as an Independent MEP for East Anglia.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the UK police inquiry followed a news report in 2005 concerning Mr Wise’s use of allowances.

The MEP has been charged along with his then researcher Lindsay Jenkins.

Both are accused of one count of false accounting and one count of money laundering.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between October 2004 and September 2005.

Derek Frame, from the CPS, said: “Following the publication of a news article in October 2005 relating to Mr Wise and Ms Jenkins, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) began an investigation into Mr Wise’s use of allowances.

“OLAF subsequently passed the investigation to Bedfordshire Police Economic Crime Unit for investigation. ”

Mr Wise, who represents Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, is one of seven MEPs who cover the eastern region.

Mr Wise and Ms Jenkins are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 27 April.

But it seems, only if we elect him as Prime Minister and give him a free house.

Conservative leader David Cameron said he would not claim the second home allowance if he moved into Number 10 after the next election and would expect other ministers with grace-and-favour properties to do the same.

Jacqui Smith also made an equally unimpressive statement about her expenses:-

Ms Smith said: “What I claim is what I think are fair and reasonable expenses for that fact I have to live in two houses… it’s the nature of the job of being an MP that they have to live in two houses.”

No disagreement on the fact that MP’s have to live in two houses, my only problem is that she believes that her actions have been fair and reasonable, whilst the public believe she has been unfair and dishonest.

The arrogance of these people is beyond belief, but come election time they will be standing up telling us what a great job they have done, and probably getting elected again.

MY really must not vote for these people again, they have shown themselves to be untrustworthy and dishonest, I truly believe that we must elect independent politicians and end this undemocratic gravy train.

This really is getting beyond a joke, chancellor Alistair Darling, a man who should be able to tell the difference between and expense and a con, has been conning the taxpayer out of money.

Not content with being provided with free accomodation at 11 Downing Street, he is also claiming a second home allowance for his Edinburgh home whilst renting out his London flat.

So yet again MP’s make a substantial profit from their expenses, expenses are just that to ensure that MP’s don’t lose out, if they are making a profit then they are not expenses but income!

With all the focus on expenses it would seem like expenses are a bad thing, this is not the case, expenses are designed to make Parliament more accessible, the expense system allows people from all walks of life to represent their constituency in Parliament without placing a financial burden upon them.

I don’t want expenses banned, what I want to see is a system where common sense and honesty are paramount, a system that defines clear boundaries, and a system where abuse is not tolerated.

Second Home Allowance - This is an important allowance, but it is for second homes, therefore your family home, the one you lived in before the election is not and never will be a second home, a second home is somewhere you can stay that is close to Parliament, anything else cannot be tolerated.

The cost of setting up a second home, again this is another financial burden, so is legitimate for someone to have to purchase reasonable furniture and furnishings, but remember this is a second home so £500 for a sink or £1,000 for a fireplace is unacceptable for somewhere that you sleep a few nights a week.

Travel expenses are much more obvious, just log where you are going and why, make the information public and there will be no problems.

Above all let’s remember that MP’s and MEP’s are already well paid, we don’t provide them with expenses so they can profit from them, we provide them with expenses so they will not be out of pocket, nothing more, nothing less.

Yes that’s right, the Transport Minister has been scamming the second homes allowance for years.

Not content with claiming a second home allowance on his family home, which while within the rules it is certainly morally wrong, he then proceeded to move into a rent free Whitehall apartment and rent out his London Flat.

Geoff Hoon defends his scamming by saying “he has stayed within the rules”, but I’m not sure the rules say you are entitled to scam the taxpayer!

I would expect greedy MP and MEP’s who blatantly scam the system to stand down, however I fear that Parliament would be empty.

By David Cameron’s own admission the problems in the expenses system were shared by all parties, so I assume he means they are all up to it!

MP’s and MEP’s are supposed to be trustworthy upstanding citizens who lead the country by example, but instead we have just got a bunch of money grabbers, who hide behind the rules they make, while robbing us blind.

It really is time for a change!

This last week we have seen more and more revalations about expenses; in fact over the last year or so, there has been scandal after scandal about excessive or just plain corrupt expense claims.

The stories always seem to follow the same line, MP/MEP is caught out trying to cheat the system, MP/MEP claims they have done nothing wrong, this is a part of their salary, it is normal! Then all the fuss dies down and they carry on as usual.

Am I the only person who thinks this is wrong?

If I was living with my family, and I claiming housing benefit, I would be prosecuted by the same people who believe it is their right to take as much money as possible from us.

For 10 years in Parliament the average MP will receive over £600,000 in wages, a very good pension and over £1 Million in expenses.

We have created a political class, many politicians have never had a real job, they move from university into a political advisor role and then on as an MP or MEP and it’s “Snouts in the Trough” time.

Something really needs to change here, we are being governed by selfish and dishonest people who’s only aganda is to fill their pockets with as much of our cash asthey possible can, these people are severely out of touch and not fit to govern our great country.

Let us put a stop to this now, we need to limit our politicians, I suggest that we restrict them to a maximum of two terms in Parliament then they are unable to stand for election again, this will destroy the political class and ensure that real people are involved in Government.

I challenge the leaders of all the main parties, if you are serious about cleaning up our political system, then put your money where your mouth is, and limit on the length of Parliamentary careers.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is at it again, she was recently in the news for claiming “second home” expenses on her family home in Redditch, and now is back in the headlines for claiming the cost of two adult movies on commons expenses.

I am open minded, if she likes adult movies in the privacy of her own home then that’s not a problem, but I don’t see why we have to pay for them. Jacqui says the movies were claimed on Commons expenses by mistake!

How can we trust the Home Secretary to  look after policing, national security, immigration, and matters of citizenship, when she can’t even fill out an expenses claim correctly?

It is about time we started really looking at what is going on inside our political system.

MP Tony McNulty recently added himself to an ever increasing list of MP’s who profit from the scandal that is MP’s expenses; even though Mr McNulty lives just 3 miles away from Westminster he has been claiming £14,000 a year for a second home.

I can understand MP’s who live outside of London needing a second home in the capital, but not an MP who actually lives so close to Westminster; if this wasn’t enough the all important second home turns out to be further away from Westminster than his main residence!

Tony McNulty has seriously compromised himself and shown that he has no integrity, if he had a conscience  he would offer to pay it back but instead he just expects us to believe that he has done nothing wrong, where is the accountability?

I am very disappointed in all of our money grabbing politicians.