Staying within the rules doesn't help Jacqui Smith

By Jonathan Walker on Feb 10, 09 04:27 PM in Politics

The row over Jacqui Smith's expenses is fading away.

The Home Secretary and Worcestershire MP has been claiming expenses of up to £22,000 for the cost of a "second home" - the one her husband and children live in, in her Redditch constituency - because she lodges in her sister's spare room when she is staying in London.

She's not going to get into trouble for this. Ms Smith was right when she said: "I have abided by the rules. Everything I have done is above board."

Because the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is not going to find her guilty of anything, and isn't likely even to investigate, interest in the Westminster village is fading.

But I wonder if the Westminster elite is out of touch with the rest of the country.

Voters may not think it's okay because it's within the rules. They may conclude instead that the rules are dumb.

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Ian Halstead said:

A timely reminder of the hypocrisy which has always run through politics.
The select committee rightly berates bank bosses for their cult of greed.
However, no MPs seem to care that taxpayers are effectively buying a Minister's constituency home, because she is exploiting the 'second home'rules.
The code was designed to ensure that MPs didn't lose out by having a second place to stay in London, not as a means of paying their main mortgage.
The silence suggests that many more Parliamentarians are content to follow the letter of the regulations, rather than adhere to the evident intentions of those who framed them.

February 11, 2009 10:36 AM

Errol said:

Hi,

I think the whole country has been riled by the MP expenses scandal and the fact that when questioned they all just say "I acted within the rules".

So, I thought it was time for the masses to follow their lead........and have set up www.withintherules.com in the same spirit.

Now we can all get some goodies on our expenses because it's ok, it's "WITHIN THE RULES!"

May 12, 2009 2:41 PM