lol!!!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5325042/Clare-Short-makes-excessive-claim-for-mortgage-payment-MPs-expenses.html

After Robin Cook resigned from the cabinet over opposition to taking the country to war, there was a period of several days in which everyone was asking of Claire Short “will she won’t she”. It was said by some, that her obvious reluctance to resign was probably more motivated by a concern of taking a big drop in salary.

I suspect that there was probably a lot of truth in that – contrary to the now fashionable rantings, back benchers are not particularly well paid. And to be fair, her cock-up doesn’t seem that scandalous – it’s not like she was claiming for cleaning out the pond weed from her moat !

Claire Short has her faults, but on the whole I like her, and this story hasn’t vastly changed my opinion of her – there’s plenty of sh1t-bags which are far worst than her in the House of Commons.

I’m not a big fan of Claire but.

Can’t actually see that she deliberately ripped through her expenses with a view to maximising her allowances there. It’s hardly like this was repayed within the last few weeks as though she was scared of being outed by The Telegraph.

I rather agree with Ernie here. I have respect for Short and there are certainly worse than her there.

Now then, what about the Balls household?

doesnt look too outrageous, renting a half decent flat in a not so bad area of london must be 10k+ a year, so claiming 15k is hardly milking it.

News reaches me that Brown protégé Ed Balls has been fighting a rear-guard action to prevent publication of the expenses he and his wife Yvette Cooper have been claiming over the last few years. Rumours have abounded for a while that the Daily Telegraph had a devastating story on the couple but I have been informed that Balls sought a High Court injunction to prevent the Telegraph publishing what it knows.

This morning the High Court rejected Balls’ pleas to cover up his expenses record and I am told that therefore there will be a very damaging story published shortly. Balls has been suggested by some to be Gordon Brown’s preferred successor and if he is damaged goods it will further reflect badly on the Prime Minister’s judgement.

Bring. It. On.

For me it has been interesting looking at the reaction of the “general public” throughout this saga.

I was utterly dismayed at the last election, as people who had lied to start the war in Iraq were voted back in, and no one seemed to be getting upset over that. It seemed that on the whole, the electorate didn’t seem to be worried about that at all, and lifetime labour voters still carried on voting Labour in their droves, and yeah conservative voters were not troubled by the total lack of opposition to the war.

So it seems to be a case of Al Capone syndrome now, where it’s not the big crimes that get them in the end, it’s the little ones. I look at these vox pops with voters, and they finally seem to be waking up a little bit to just how hideous many of these MPs are.

I have visited Vincent Cable (my MP at the time) many times when I was living in London, and many times there would be me and just a tiny handful of other people taking up their right to see him in his surgery and say their piece. I was dismayed that people were not getting more involved.

So yeah, I do hope that people do still continue to vote, rather than not vote as that just allows these mother funsters to carry on getting elected, as opposed to people from the smaller parties or independents.

After saying all of this, look at how low George Bush’s ratings were. One big terrorist attack and all of a sudden people suddenly seem to think that some who is a complete fiasco minutes ago can become THE person to save them in times of crisis. I am sure Brown desperately wants to start a war, i really am, as that will be the only thing he thinks can help save him from electorate destruction?

Bring. It. On.

If anything, at least the Balls will have their very own stalker when all the dust settles.