We Can't Afford MPs

Nia Griffith: we own her crockery

Talk of public spending cuts is all very well but I'm seriously coming to the conclusion, after a brief scan of my and my nearest and dearest's various MPs' heavily censored expenses, that we simply can't afford them any more. If you want to cut public spending, instead of starting with schools and defence, why don't we start a little closer to home? Why not cut a few hundred MPs and then cap the salaries and abolish all the expenses of the remainder?

Why have I suddenly come to this conclusion? Because I'm bloody livid, that's why. My parents, both of whom are retired professionals, should be reasonably comfortable and enjoying their hard-earned rest from long and productive careers.

But they are not because of astronomical utility bills (no "deflation" there), astronomical local taxes (corrupt and inept local Labour government), astronomical food bills (no "deflation" there either) and diabolical public and health services that they invariably end up subsidising despite a lifetime of constant local tax, road tax and national insurance contributions by paying, for instance, for treatment they would otherwise simply not receive this side of 2012.

On top of this, I have now discovered that their Labour MP, ex-public school girl and Oxford educated former schoolteacher (and daughter of Welsh academic royalty) Nia Griffith, who is paid a small fortune anyway as an MP and PPS to Harriet Harperson, has all her household bills, council tax, mortgage interest and food costs effectively subsidised by my pensioner parents. Not only that, but also her second home's furnishings, fittings - even the china - was paid for by the taxpayer. It's impossible to gather from the document, which has been completely mutilated, whether she's flipped homes as well. Judging by some of her exes claims, I think I'd risk a flutter on that one.

Here's an example of what the taxpayer - you, me and my retired folks - paid to make Nia Griffith's second home, a home for which she has no doubt earned a tidy sum during the insane period of Brown's property bubble, just that little bit more luxurious:

I know, I know: they're all at it. Hey, I'm just holding this woman up as an example. Get over there and pick your own! There's hundreds to choose from and she is by no means the worst, hard though that might be to believe. Just someone - please - explain to me why Griffith, who does an average job in my parents' constituency at the best of times, or any other Member of Parliament for that matter, should not have to furnish her own taxpayer-subsidised second properties and pay for utilities, upkeep and council tax, too. Why, exactly, are my pensioner parents paying for her dishwashers, cabinet freezers and £300 pound china sets?

This might be old news, but it remains a very fresh resentment that is not going to go away until some or all of this money is paid back, perhaps out of the money these petty piggy thieves have made from the property boom, screwing the taxpayer from every possible direction in the process.

Tell you what, I wonder who'd give me a price if I wanted to bet that Brown kept the boom going just to keep the troughers and the flippers happy - and sod the country? Wouldn't put that past him, or them.

These are terrible, dark days for Britain. Hard to see when we will start to pull through as long as the 645 current incumbents remain. Why don't we just kick them all out and start again? They're our employees after all.

Small wonder we aren't getting our general election.