UK: MP Expenses - Why No Prosecutions?

Why exactly haven't MP's been prosecuted for fraud? I mean consider something here, if you or i made a mistake on our accounting, our taxes or anything else then we would be very quickly arrested, charged and the courts would go after us like jackals. Some MP's have claimed money back on mortgage payments when the mortgage was already paid off for gods sake! If you or i tried this we'd be in prison right now.

So why no prosecutions?

I agree with you totally claiming for a mortgage that doesn't exist that is a crime!

I think we need to wait untill it's all official and all have been exposed untill the criminal proceedings start.

I have asked this very question time and time again. Ministers are ALL out for themselves and when things go wrong they rally round and cover each others arses. At first all they wanted was to find out who leaked the info, they wanted the police to investigate and charge this guy (give him a medal I say).

I'm sick of hearing "I made an honest mistake", if so many MPs make "mistakes' on such a regular basis how the hell can they be trusted to run a country???

Then on the other hand the other half are saying "we acted in accordance of the rules, we have done nothing wrong", these b........ are worse as there is no remorse there what so ever and NO paying it back should NOT get them off the hook.

I for one feel the only way they will sit up and listen to the populace is when it comes to voting, but then there is the question, which untrustworthy, sneaky, useless, thieving b........ do you vote for??

I for one think the queen should rally her troops and get them to march on and close parliament until new trustworthy MPs can be found. Come on Lizzy you know it makes sense.

reply to post by yeebsy


Well this is what gets me. When i ran a business if i ever made a mistake on my taxes then i'd have been in serious trouble. If i claimed for something that didn't exist i'd be in prison and simply paying it back wouldn't have been an option. I would have been in prison, no questions or alternatives. I couldn't simply claim it was a mistake.

So are they simply above the law?

So are they simply above the law?

Well, at the moment it certainly looks that way and for a while now it looks like "if you have friends in high places" Just take a look at Peter Mandelson.

December 1998: Is forced to quit Government after details emerge of a secret loan of £373,000 he took from his ministerial colleague Geoffrey Robinson to buy a home in Notting Hill - despite Mr Robinson's business dealings being under investigation by Mr Mandelson's department.


October 1999: Is brought back to Government surprisingly quickly by Mr Blair. Is made Northern Ireland Secretary, taking over from Mo Mowlam. Helps negotiations over the creation of Ulster's power-sharing government.


January 2001: Is forced to quit for a second time over allegations that he attempted to help with a passport application for the Hinduja brothers, who had sponsored the Dome's "Faith Zone".


June 2001: Is re-elected as Hartlepool MP, declaring himself "a fighter, not a quitter" at the election count. Remains MP for three more years, also becoming a columnist for GQ magazine and chairman of the Policy Network, a left-of-centre think-tank.


November 2004: Returns from political wilderness to take up position of EU Trade Commissioner.


October 2008: Returns to the Government as Business Secretary under Mr Brown, as it is announced he will be appointed to the House of Lords

Now this guys (Peter Mandelson) department was investigating another colleague (Geoffrey Robinson), they were investigating "tax and business affairs", Mandelson borrows £373,000 as a deposit for a £475,000 home in Notting Hill. Mandleson also forgets to tell the building society who is giving him a mortgage of £100,000 that the deposit money he has was in actual fact another loan!

This is just one of a long line of dodgy dealings our elected members carried out, it just goes to show that the the Totalitarian state that we now live in protect the ones in power, yes sad but true but at the moment they ARE above the law.

For anyone who is interested, here is a rather extensive list of MP's and what they claimed.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Labour MPs Alan and Ann Keen - who are married - have claimed £137,679 between them towards a central London flat despite the fact their family home is less than ten miles away.

COME ON!!!! Why the hell are they allowed a second home? surely if you live close enough you shouldn't be entitled, I live 23 miles away from my work, I'd get no help on a second home and the travel cost I have to pay for. It's my choice to go into the profession I'm in, just like it's their choice to go into politics.


Ben Chapman repaid his £295,000 mortgage in 2002, then continued to receive £15,000 over 10 months for the interest part of the mortgage which he no longer paid. FRAUD pure and simple, jail the b........


George Mudie The MP for East Leeds claimed £62,000 in expenses over four years for his London flat while having a mortgage of £26,000. Excuse me?? FRAUDSTER!!


Sarah McCarthy-Fry the junior education minister submitted a receipt for a £100 pair of hair straighteners. Please!!!!



When you read through it so many of these parasites sell their second homes and pay no capital gains tax, why????

Originally posted by yeebsy
Sarah McCarthy-Fry the junior education minister submitted a receipt for a £100 pair of hair straighteners. Please!!!!

You see i can see why she tried this. She can say that she needed her hair done for work. A simple point to make is that any of us "normal" people would use our own wages even if it were a work function.

Originally posted by yeebsy
When you read through it so many of these parasites sell their second homes and pay no capital gains tax, why????

Because it's a racket? It's a way of making tons of money etc. I see no good reason that they shouldn't pay capital gains tax.

I've heard it all now. James Purnell has resigned from the cabinet and urged Gordon Brown to step down for the good of the Labour party????, what ever happened to THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY!!!!!

Once again a senior MP shows that he rely doesn't give a s..t about the country, it's all about these a.......s keeping their coushie jobs.

reply to post by yeebsy


This is what deeply concerns me about modern politics. It's all about keeping the party up, not the country. Also it's all about a political career and yet MP's have many side careers. They have consultancy jobs and other such things.

Surely we should set the rules so that an MP cannot ever have any other income then their MP job. If we did this then they would have to work hard to keep their office to keep their income. It would encourage them to do the best for their constituents.

However the expenses are utterly disgusting. Anyone else would now be in prison for fraud, so why are we not pushing for this? there have been tentative comments by David Cameron and some other MP's but they are few and far between.

They also get £100k per year to claim for 3rd party expenses. Some have used this to hire their family to lick stamps and answer phones.

One MP hired his son who was at university and paid him £45k. (i can't even be bothered to research his name, but let's just call him bastard #446).

So the MP's caught with their fingers in the till are saying they will quit....next election. This gives them time to fleece the system for another year, as it seems no election will be called after Mandleson has spoke his evil words to rally support for fat head.

p.s. i find it interesting that Brown is Scottish and the speaker of the House, Michael Martin is also Scottish.

reply to post by PrisonerOfSociety


Well lets be clear on what i consider a fair way of ensuring MP's dont abuse the system.

1. They may not employ family, a families business or help them get contracts with teh government.

2. They may not accept donations from any private organisation or persons.

3. They may not accept any job outside of their MP work other than charity work which is done free of charge without any promise of job prospects in the future.

4. A hotel should be purchased in London where MP's could stay, free of charge. This would abolish the need for a second home simply to be closer to London. Theywould be allowed to keep their other home away from London but they may not claim any expenses for it.

After all if the hotel costs them nothing then they only have to fund the one home and that is what normal people do.

5. They would only be able to claim for food at the hotel and would have a set limit of a very small amount. They don't need caviar and champagne. The average food bill of a single person should be enough.

6. Abolish their exemption from capital gains tax on property. If we used the hotel idea then their other home is a private purchse like any other citizen.


There could be more addons to this but thos came from the top of my head.

A hotel should be purchased in London where MP's could stay, free of charge.

They already have one, there is a building (I will try to find it's name) it's a private hotel for MPs and there is a room for EVERY mp.

ImaginaryReality1984, what a lovely, fair and ideal scenario your list would be, but there is no benefit to MP's, so it would never see the light of day.

In Australia apparently, they built a hostel for MP's to stay in when they visit parliament, so why can't they do the same in UK?

For companies who have contractors doing field work, they pay for the hotel, keep the receipt and then claim it back from expenses; they also get a £20 food voucher (or whatever). If you want to drink six bottles of whiskey on top of that, then you pay for it from your own money.

I think they (MP's) revere themselves as Messiahs and are above Joe Public. This was epitomised by one tosser saying that he has a big house and members of the public were just jealous. I almost popped a vein in my head hearing the # say that.

Here's a funny video, where a BBC reporter is accosted to declare her salary. I don't pay TV license so i don't give two hoots either way. I'm also not on the electoral register and don't vote; I just like moaning

Edit: His question about salary begins @5.14secs.



[edit on 5-6-2009 by PrisonerOfSociety]
[edit on 5-6-2009 by PrisonerOfSociety]

[edit on 5-6-2009 by PrisonerOfSociety]

Originally posted by yeebsy

A hotel should be purchased in London where MP's could stay, free of charge.

They already have one, there is a building (I will try to find it's name) it's a private hotel for MPs and there is a room for EVERY mp.

Well knock me sideways, i never knew that. If it exists then there is absolutely no need for them to havea second home. Unless this hotel is simply used for erm other activites lol.

Originally posted by PrisonerOfSociety
ImaginaryReality1984, what a lovely, fair and ideal scenario your list would be, but there is no benefit to MP's, so it would never see the light of day.

If we vote and complain it will see the light of day, that is the point. Despite what the government tries to convince people of, it is we the people who truly have the power. Simply by numbers we do.

Originally posted by PrisonerOfSociety
I think they (MP's) revere themselves as Messiahs and are above Joe Public. This was epitomised by one tosser saying that he has a big house and members of the public were just jealous. I almost popped a vein in my head hearing the **** say that.

I had the same reaction, the guy wasn't up for re-election and so spoke the truth. I starred out one word here and suggest you do the same by editing your post. Sorry to be mean but it's not a nice word and against ATS T&C. Please edit it before some muppet reports you and your post is removed. It's a good post and i hope it isn't gone.

Originally posted by PrisonerOfSociety
Here's a funny video, where a BBC reporter is accosted to declare her salary. I don't pay TV license so i don't give two hoots either way. I'm also not on the electoral register and don't vote; I just like moaning

Forgive me for saying but if you don't vote then you have absolutely no right to comment about all of this. If you spoiled your vote i would be fine with it, but to simply be to lazy to partake in democracy means you basically gave up your right to complain when things go wrong.

Originally posted by scoopyjon
I agree with you totally claiming for a mortgage that doesn't exist that is a crime!

How the police do not see that is beyond belief. It is public money that many hard working people pay for.

The thing is that alot will still keep there jobs no matter what happens, and life will go on, and they will still be doing these things.

I just watched that BBC interview and can't believe that Lord Foulkes's attitude, bleating on about how the poor MPs' are having a hard time from the press. This goes to show how out of touch these w....... actually are, they do not deserve to get a single penny from the state.

Can't find that building name, I will keep checking. It was talked about on TV last week and is seemingly rather plush.

p.s. i find it interesting that Brown is Scottish and the speaker of the House, Michael Martin is also Scottish.

I too am a Scott living in England, it is our ultimate goal to RULE THE WORLD MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Originally posted by yeebsy

I too am a Scott living in England, it is our ultimate goal to RULE THE WORLD MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

I must admit i like the proposal of English MP's once a month voting on laws that effect England only. After all the Welsh and Scottish have their own parliaments so why not us? That one makes sense to me.

Originally posted by andy1033
The thing is that alot will still keep there jobs no matter what happens, and life will go on, and they will still be doing these things.

Well this is the point. If we make enough of a fuss then they will not keep their jobs. We the people need to make more of a fuss! I cannot protest physically due to ill health, but i write letters, i sign protests and do anything else i can. I wonder if yo udo the same? You sound so very defeated and that gets me down when many of the electorate think the same.

In the end we can stop this, the people can. All it takes is for them to stand up! Mass letter writing, physical protests, phone calls and other media are enough to take back the power we have innate within our system!