bridge too far

Aah I see - your dog is a Nazi? Being German, 'n all

John Lewis is 'never knowingly undersold' so they probably got the best price there

Because the Labour Party isn't socialist, maybe :smt102 Faced with the choice available at the last elections, the pragmatic move is to vote Labour because the alternatives are even less appealing. If I didn't vote at all I would be a) denying myself my democratic right and b) risking letting the other lot in. That doesn't mean that people like me SUPPORT this government. It means we carry on, in a democratic manner, seeking to change the direction in which the Labour Party is travelling i.e. centre where it's soon going to bump into DC's Conservatives.

Not many friends then, eh?

^^^^^ *smirk*

Oh the splendid irony

Nice friends you have

Have the accounts been published yet?

Only last weekend I heard a broadcast about how the Left is gaining popularity in Europe, especially France. Interesting Newsweek article here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/158713

I think the breakdown of expenses are to be published shortly. I say this because I've just been hearing on the radio that someone has offered said breakdown for £300K and John Peinar (sp?) the BBC Parliametary reporter has said the information will be available to all and sundry soon. So we'll be able to see then. He also just said that it has to be remembered that the HoC sits late into the night and then starts up again early next day. Even if these MPs could get home very late at night (especially as a lot of them, if not most, travel by train) they wouldn't be able to get back again in time for the next day's business. That's why they have to stay in London. I was interested to hear that hotel expenses were being mooted as an alternative to second homes. It would be interesting to see how the cost of that would compare. But let's not lose sight of the fact that these MPs would be guilty of dereliction of duty if they did not attend the House. Of far more concern to me is the behaviour of MPs claiming for expenses to which they are NOT entitled. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/2096020/Half-of-Conservative-Party-MEPs-ignoring-expenses-rules.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jun/06/conservatives.partyfunding http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1035854/Conservatives-use-1-5m-taxpayers-money-year-pay-relatives.html

Depends on the bloke, though, Jill, doesn't it?

Which is exactly what I said immediately above the list! Do keep up, Nick The bit about Samantha Cameron was in the first link - from the Daily Mail, so it must be true. I can't think what she would have done to earn that much either. The only possible answer that I can come up with is that she owns the Notting Hill House (because his mortgage claim is for the large house in Oxfordshire) and he pays her rent. But that's speculation on my part.

Which is why Gordon Brown wrote to the Committee yesterday asking that the timetable be brought forward. What you musn't lose sight of is the fact that there is nothing illegal in what (most of) these MPs are doing. We may not like it but, until the rules are changed, there's little we can do about it short of making our disquiet known. People will always use rules to their advantage.

OFFS JB - you KNOW perfectly well that the PM has to live at 10 Downing Street. And as for the policemen at his door, all senior MPs, whether government or opposition, have security. And I know this to be true as a friend of mine works for the Diplomatic Protection Group. To back up my point made to NickH about travel expenses relating to the location of the constituency: Expenses Top 10: 1. Eric Joyce (LAB: Falkirk) £187,334 2. Michael Connarty (LAB: Linlithgow & East Falkirk) £183,466 3. Alistair Carmichael (LD: Orkney & Shetland) £176,190 4. Ben Wallace (CON: Lancaster & Wyre) £175,523 5. Mohammad Sarwar (LAB: Glasgow Central) £174,882 6. Charles Kennedy (LD: Ross, Skye & Inverness West) £174,232 7. Janet Anderson (LAB: Rossendale & Darwen) £173,556 8. David Borrow (LAB: South Ribble) £172,706 9. Jim McGovern (LAB: Dundee West) £171,989 10. Fabian Hamilton (LAB: North East Leeds) £171,824 Most of these MPs represent Scottish Constituencies, with the exception of Ben Wallace (Con) from Lancaster and David Borrow (LAB) - South Ribble and Fabian Hamilton (LAB) - Leeds. Even these constituencies are in the north. Interesting too, that DC's wife Samantha, ('heiress to a landowning Baronetcy') was paid £300K - doesn't say what for. The first link I published shows that GB claimed 2 x £137.00 in mortgage interest whereas DC claimed £21K and George Osborne claimed £18K. Even Tony Blair only claimed just under £4K.

Because this parrot is deceased. HTH

But they'd still need a second home for the major part of the week when they were attending the house!!!!!!!!! David Cameron has a house up the road from me and also has a house in West London. No doubt he claims something for one or other of them. (Although on second thoughts he's so wealthy he possibly doesn't - that way he can take the moral high ground that many couldn't afford to do). Oh, rewind - just found this (in the Daily Mail of all places :shock: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-556290/MPs-expenses-list-reveals-David-Cameron-used-claim-21-000-year-pay-mortgage.html Maybe they should charge for hotels when in London then. I'm sure that'll work out cheaper. Remember that it was the Conservative MPs who were aghast at the idea of their party publishing their expenses and the MPs who charged for non-existent jobs for their sons / nanny expenses were Conservatives. And look at this too: :shock: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1165924/Party-leaders-expenses-revealed-Gordon-Brown-claimed-124-000-David-Cameron-invoiced-149-000.html It would seem it costs DC more in expenses (living, as he does, quite near London) than it does GB (who lives in Scotland). You don't claim for your business because you don't live there. That's the difference, buddy.

NickH I've come to the conclusion that you subscribe to the school of thought that opines the following mantra: "Say something often enough and it will become the truth"

I can't believe you're really so dense NickH. :shock: I haven't got the time or inclination to see which constituencies these MPs represent but consider this: MPs, whether you like it or not, DO have two places of work. Their first obligation is to their constituencies. Their second is attendance in the House of Commons. If an MP represents a consituency in, say, Yorkshire, then of course his / her travel expenses will be more than an MP representing, say, Guildford. (Because it's a greater distance, in case you're having problems understanding why). Even if that MP 'came from' the constituency they represent, they'd STILL have to travel to London on at least a weekly basis. Many MPs hold their constituency surgeries on a Friday so Mon-Thurs they're in the House (and therefore have to live in London) and then travel 'home' on Friday for their surgeries and to spend time with their families at the weekend. Unless, of course, you're saying that an MP should either never bother to attend consituency surgeries or alternatively never attend the HofC? You'd be the first to moan if either of those two scenarios happened. Whilst I don't get paid to travel to my main place of work (my office), I do get paid if I have to travel to a different (second) place of work (my clients' offices) and also to recover hotel bills where appropriate. I have never met an employer who did not pay such expenses for a worker.

St Marco, the difference, however, between Leeds and us is that the Leeds creditors who agreed to the CVA were actually Ken Bates, weren't they? I think, although I can't state for certain without doing some research, that this matter is STILL being investigated because the Bates offer wasn't actually the best one, but was the one the 'creditors' agreed to.

They're a bugger to iron. HTH

Hamster I am so delighted with your new avatar!

Can it be done via a Pre-pack?

No Hamster - not Harold Bishop LOL. You tell your wife off! Tell her it was the guy who used to own the bar at one point. Seriously, I do know that the actor actually came from Hampshire, and I'm pretty sure it was Fareham. Right - just googled it, sad muppet that I am He played the character Lou Carpenter and his real name is Tom Oliver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Carpenter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Oliver

The one on the left in the Barca shirt looks like the guy that used to be in Neighbours. That actor came from Fareham, didn't he? May it IS him LOL

Well, she says it was a broadband bundle that she'd signed up for and she didn't realise it included TV. Could be I suppose - there are so many bundled deals out there these days.