[Closed] Todays' game - who can find the most stupid 'blanking out' on MP expenses

just be releived that without the leaking of the un-censored stuff to the Telegraph, we'd never have heard about most of the scandalous stuff as the important information (such as designated second homes) is hidden.

The latest one (Kitty Usher) is a case in point.

The blanking out is wrong - yes crucial details need to be suppressed to protect MPs - but the addresses could be reduced to the town for example - and anyway most MPs addresses can be obtained elsewhere. Blanking out the addresses means we cannot see who has "flipped" their second homes

Unfortunatly this again shows how out of touvh the whole of parliament is. and will not be enough to stop the scandal.

I just had a browse round the Telegraph site ( disinfection of self required) Makes for fun reading. some notable "saints" as well.

[img] [/img]

Caroline Flint.

LOL@BD

Surely the expenses claim from Bliar to shred confidential data is the best/worst example!

BD - that's a classic!

Doesn't matter The Telegraph have just announced on Sky News they're going to publish the full unredacted details over tomorrow (for cabinet members) and everyone else's on Saturday

I hope they will have redacted some of the details, because as much as I dislike some of the slimey bastards I wouldn't want one to get killed because enough data to trace their footsteps, and track down exactly where they are likely to be when had been released.

Fully unredacted all addresses, hotels etc.. As the journalist rightly said if all we saw was the redacted versions we'd never have found out about flipping etc..

I hope they will have redacted some of the details, because as much as I dislike some of the slimey bastards I wouldn't want one to get killed because enough data to trace their footsteps, and track down exactly where they are likely to be when had been released.

Lanesra - good. MPs addresses are on public record anyway

How many clean MPs? half of them? Less?

MPs addresses (and of all candidates) are printed on the ballot papers at election time, so hardly top secret!

Not an expenses claim, but her planning application.

Well My MP, Rosie Winterton lives very close to me, on my street to be precise. You could tell which house as it's the one which often had Prescott's Jag outside together with his special branch BMW while he came shagging on the weekend. Anyway, what's interesting is why her latest planning application has been deemed unsuitable for out prying eyes.

Here's the planning history for the past few years

Reference Record Type Description Click to view
1 07/03023/FUL Planning Application Erection of single storey conservatory/orangery to rear of end terraced house
2 07/00549/DEV21 Enforcement Case Enforcement Enquiry
3 07/03058/DEXBN Building Control Application Re-Roof
4 08/00970/FUL Planning Application Erection of single story pitched roof detached garden room to rear of end terraced house (being resu...
5 91/3514/P Planning Application INSTALLATION OF DORMER WINDOW TO REAR

Taken from the council planning website. You can click on each of the first four and see the details, but on the last one when you click it all you get is:

[i]Sorry, the details of this application cannot be displayed as Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council have deemed it confidential. [/i]

So what's so special about this Dormer Window? Was there extra soundproofing to protect the neighbours sensibilities? Also, not publishing the first/second homes designation means it's not possible to tell whether she built her orangery out of wages or allowances.
It's not like she's had a terribly successful career as a minister, having been in oversight of banking and pensions while they were all busy dealing in dodgy mortgages, renegotiating dentist contracts, that went well too. She's just been moved from junior post to junior post staying just long enough to screw something up, then when she's been about to get the boot a call comes in from Hull saying you can't sack her, she'll squeal, so she gets another sideways move. She's back to Pensions now, so listen for the sound of the ball being dropped(again).

To be fair my mp, Andrew Slaughter for acton ealing and shepherds bush
2007-08 Total Expenses £134,441
only claimed for office stuff and phone bills, mobiles bills 500 a month is that reasonable?

no second home

a lot of the stuff he pays is rent on his offices etc

over all i think he comes out quite well, he even gets elcectrical stuff, extension cables etc from maplins which is always cheap 🙂

damn i may have to vote for him now as he actually seems honest, but i dont want to vote labour, dilema!

how come this guys expenses are the 2 most emailed story on the bbc?

[url] http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/mpexpenses/html/100.stm [/url]

Alan Milburn's photocopier's serial number is blanked out, though I now know who delivers his daily paper.

Can we please give a round of applause to George Osborne, for charging to the taxpayer a CD of his own speeches.

I think that tells us everything we need to know about you, thank you very much

charging 47 quid for 2 copies of his speeches!

[i]hope they will have [b]redacted[/b] some of the details[/i]

this is a new word to me, does it mean the same thing as censored? Do they use redacted instead of censored because censored sounds like the kind of thing those nasty foreign countries would do, rather than the lovely fluffy government we have?

re·dact (r-dkt)
tr.v. re·dact·ed, re·dact·ing, re·dacts
1. To draw up or frame (a proclamation, for example).
2. To make ready for publication; edit or revise.
3. To cover up the sins of leaders
4. The art of open communication without saying anything
5. To translate into the language of the Weasel
6. A Failed attempt appease the masses
7. To be 'within the rules'

[i]rather than the lovely fluffy [u]government[/u] [/i]

lets not confuse the issue its not the just government this is the best example of cross party unity you will ever see

every one of them has been fully aware and complicit in the system for decades its a giant oiled-up-clusterfrack-daisychain-orgy of greed cynicism and arrogance writhing and seething across the entire house

[url= http://mpsallowances.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/hocallowances/allowances-by-mp/anne-begg/Anne_Begg_0708_CA.pdf ]Page 4 might as well be a black screen[/url]

"redacted" is a daft word, used very heavily by lawyers to mean "butchered with a black marker pen". 😀

[url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2009/jun/18/mps-expenses-houseofcommons ]http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2009/jun/18/mps-expenses-houseofcommons

there are some mind boggling claims listed here, including 2 grand for bookshelves a 1p phone call .......[/url]

I have spent some time today looking at loads of this stuff.

It looks like it is carte Blanche to buy what you want and from where you want.

So all these costs, have they been market tested, price matched or god forbid even tendered for, after all it is public money !!!!

The fact the company cleaning your moat or designing your web site or even renting your surgery from might be AHEM ! giving a bit back.

Bent twisted evil ass holes the lot of them.

How many clean MPs? half of them? Less?

It's nice to see that at least a few have stuck to the spirit of what the rules should have been.

I like this one from the Grauniad blg linked above:

A colleague is looking at Ann Widdecombe's claims under the additional costs allowance for 2007-08 and tells me that she has crossed out all the alcohol items from the hotel bills she submits. In other words, she pays for her own drinks. Good for her.

One honest Mp perhaps?

I like her for the next speaker. No one pushes Doris Karloff around

TandemJeremy - Member
I like this one from the Grauniad blg linked above:

A colleague is looking at Ann Widdecombe's claims under the additional costs allowance for 2007-08 and tells me that she has crossed out all the alcohol items from the hotel bills she submits. In other words, she pays for her own drinks. Good for her.

One honest Mp perhaps?

I like her for the next speaker. No one pushes Doris Karloff around

Agreed, a good choice as interim speaker at least.

My MP seems to be straight, he comes something like 590th in claims, what what I can see he's claimed about £13K for travelling expenses, employess his wife on about £15K and the rest is stationary and stuff for running a constituency office.

So yeah, some are OK.

[img] [/img]
what is gordon hiding??

his sky tv subscription

[img] [/img]

i also see that Cameron has rushed to pay back the extra grand he accidently claimed even , despite the torrygraph saying he was infact clean asa whistle apart from the wisteria issues

i also like the fact that john prescott had to have his toilet seat repaired, twice!

and that george osbornes speach cds he claimed for were on the subject of value for money