So why do retiring Welsh MPs who used their expenses to buy snazzy gadgets and computers just months before they were due to quit manage to keep thiers.
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| Bumper Bundle nice retirement presents except Hain give it to himself. |
Former MPs Peter Hain and Jonathan Evans came under fire from the TaxPayers’ Alliance, with the group calling for rules to be tightened to prevent retiring politicians going on taxpayer-funded shopping trips.
Tax Paters Aliance are not one of my favouriye groups but they are trghy on this one
Hain claimed nearly £2,000 for a new computer, iPad and iPhone, while Evans’ office forked out just over £570 for a new Dell laptop computer, both just weeks before the deadline set by standards watchdog Ipsa.
Evans had previously announced he was stepping down in January 2013, while Hain told of his retirement in June 2014. it with you.
Up to 60 MPs ordered the equipment shortly before a moratorium came into force six months before the election, said Ipsa.
Restrictions are imposed six months ahead of the vote so retiring MPs or those who may lose their seat do not waste taxpayers’ money on items they won’t use for work.
The watchdog IPSA which keeps an eye on MPs expenses but clearly has not got the powers it needs. says no rules were broken, but advised MPs who were standing down or were defeated in the election to donate the devices to charity or a successor MP after May 7. However it had no power to enforce this.
A spokesman said:
“Having looked into these claims, we are satisfied that they are within the rules. This covers purchases made during September 2014, as the restrictions on capital purchases began on September 30, 2014.
“The total value of the purchases for all MPs in September amounts to £71,216.48.”
Ex-Neath MP Hain, a former Welsh Secretary, spent £1,682.98 just over two weeks before the Ipsa deadline and then around another £225 around a week later.
He has reportedly said the equipment was needed to replace broken technology.
What a coincidence . It is not as if Mr Hain did not know the date of his retirement Indeed he clearly nearly used the last minute .for his "Supermarket Sweep".
Mr hain should hand over his computer to his successor.
Indeed if he used this equipment for his work and not personnel use then it could be a great help to Christina Rees who after all is in the same party. who may benefit from the contacts and casework on this expensive IT equipment.
Or it could be wiped clean and donated to a charity..
Its not as if MR Hain wil be living om a state pension from now on
1 comment:
Glyn - this a further example of some MPs taking the system for granted.
We saw it during the 'expenses scandal' and it hasn't gone away. Whilst these people indulge themselves at our expense, many ordinary people are finding their benefits cut to the bone and services for the vulnerable stopped or reduced.
George Orwell got it absolutely right at the end of Animal Farm with there being nothing to distinguish the farmers and pigs from each other.
It's obvious some MPs have had their snouts in the Westminster expenses trough for far too long.
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