Wish I could steal £16k, get away with it and call it a mistake.

[Matt]

A former minister was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party today after claiming £16,000 in taxpayers' money for a non-existent mortgage.

Gordon Brown said Elliot Morley was being suspended because of the 'serious' allegations made against him.

The MP is facing a possible fraud probe over claims made for interest payments on his constituency home in S****horpe after his mortgage was paid off.

His suspension is the first disciplinary action taken by the main parties since the expenses revelations began last week.

It came shortly after David Cameron's Commons aide Andrew MacKay resigned over claims made by him and his wife under the controversial second home allowance.

Mr Morley's case will also be discussed by Labour's ruling National Executive Committee next week, sparking rumours he may be expelled from the party altogether.

Twat.

It's alright, we'll all pay for you ****'s and then company's and people run out of money, and pay the price.

Would we get in trouble? Get sent to jail? Get abused?

Will these bastard MP's? Doubt it - Not as much as the standard person on the street if they did it anyway.

[Joe.]

Takes the piss really, and makes you wonder how many countless others are doing it/have done it in the past.

[Shrenchel]

Yeah they're taking the piss. Some of the claims are absolutely ridiculous.

They should get paid more to be honest, not an excuse for going on the fiddle though.

[Katy]

It's one rule for them and one rule for everyone else - always has been.

[Alexikokopops]

Lets be honest. How many people here wouldn't try slipping a few extra things on expenses if they could get away with it?

[Matt]

Lets be honest. How many people here wouldn't try slipping a few extra things on expenses if they could get away with it?

But £16,000? And however many thousands others have stolen of the general public?

That's abit more than slipping a few extra's on expenses IMO.

They've certainly not helped the recession have they? There not helping with credit crunch are they?

[Thracian]

Why the hell any of us should obey laws and pay taxes at the bidding of the disreputable band of lowlife's who serve as our ministers and MPs is beyond me although there's plenty will still vote for them as if they've not already done harm enough.

To think there are some still condemn corruption in places like Africa! Graduates, presumably, of the Tony Blair/Gordon Brown School of Hypocrisy and Double Talk.

[Guest]

What gets me is that there's some mad rush to repay the money on lots of similar cases at the moment in order to 'regain the public's trust'.

Trust??? If the media hadn't been covering it wall-to-wall would you still be so eager to repay it? How anyone can trust such self-serving individuals is beyond me. If you can't live on the amount that an awful lot of MPs are getting then there's something very wrong.

[Hitesh]

I don't agree with how lax the system is, and I can understand SOME of the expense claims BUT what I don't get is some of the abuse of the system.

Lets be honest, if there was a system in place with rules such and you could claim expenses then you would claim and even for the small things etc. However, you wouldn't want to push the limits of it so I can see where some of these claims have come from and fair do's on their part for using the system. I understand its all tax payers money at the end of the day but they need to be paid if they are required to be in different places regularly. When I was working I used to stay in two places and got to claim expenses etc. But what I didn't do is take advantage of the system (which is in place to be fair) like SOME of these MP's have been and I can understand why there is anger and I feel the same too. They have taken their privlidges too far and should be punished.

I don't think its wrong they can claim expenses because at the end of the day they shouldn't be out of pocket for doing their job, it's wrong that they are abusing the system BIG time. What does need to be done is the rules need to be laid out and strict guidelines in place - that's what I had when I worked and if you went over the line, you got punished! What also needs to be said is that its not just the current governemnt that has been doing this, it's been like this for years now and only come to light and its like a ripple effect - the media find one case and then dig for more and more, which is good because its exposing the truth but the blame has to go on the system overall in which case the blame lies with all MP's as they are the ones who govern the system. Hence the reason there has been a problem. An independent body should govern it!

Also, one solution they could have is to buy an apartment flats/blocks for MPs to stay in and not to have a second allowance on their home as this would be much cheaper for them - I can't see it being a problem and its one way of saving costs judging by the figures I've seen!

Don't get me wrong either, I agree that its all a farce but think that people tend to jump on the media bandwagon too quickly. But yourself in their positron, if you can claim for money spent on being somewhere for work, you claim back what you are out of pocket on. But don't cross the line - and thats what these MP's have been doing which I think is wrong and they should face the consequences!

[Hitesh]

Lets be honest. How many people here wouldn't try slipping a few extra things on expenses if they could get away with it?

Yeah, kinda part of the point I was trying to make above but I think I went off on one a bit...

[Alexikokopops]

But £16,000? And however many thousands others have stolen of the general public?

That's abit more than slipping a few extra's on expenses IMO.

They've certainly not helped the recession have they? There not helping with credit crunch are they?

Good point. I imagine if you added up all the frivolous expenses MPs have made we could of staved off all this economic decline and saled through care free to the other side.

My point was that a lot people only slip a few extra's on expenses because they're worried they might get caught. If your standard office worker for example had good enough reason to think they could get away with bunging £16k on expenses I reckon there would be quite a few who jump at the chance. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, just making an observation about human nature.

[stez]

i hope they will take all this into account when i remember that i'm still claiming unemployment benefit even though i'm working, i simply forgot.

[Sir Fynwy]

I wonder if anyone would notice if I put a Triumph Tiger on expenses? I can usually get away with the odd lunch or a few extra miles on the mileage allowance but it might be a bit much adding several grand.

Most companies accept a small amount of abuse in the system, seems MP's can get away with rape and pillage of theirs.

[General Smuts]

I've been robbing tax payers blind for nearly 3 years now.

Cheers lads loving the free booze

[Matt]

i hope they will take all this into account when i remember that i'm still claiming unemployment benefit even though i'm working, i simply forgot.

Good point. (When I actually find a job - Not looking good, must have phoned somewhere in the region of 30 - 50 companies - I know there is a big difference between 30 and 50 )

Apparently you are given a reduced benefit, sometimes you are not given a benefit at all if you have savings, I do have savings that I have been putting away week by week ready for a pension in the future, I also have savings that I am not allowed to touch yet - They are all investments that my mum is looking after also for the future...These simply slipped my mind when applying and receiving these benefits. Fuk em'

At the same time I don't agree with the - If you have saving you will be put on a reduced benefit/no benefit, At the end of the day i've worked and hence the word 'savings' saved that money but i'm now out of work thanks to a certain extent of these ****'s stealing money off us and been made redundant, why should I be punished and not being given the benefit?!

I appologise to everyone who is actually working and paying for me but blame the people who have got the country in this mess not us who are simply claiming what we deserve - At the end of the day i've worked for it, I've payed all the tax in, I'm simply just claiming some back now, Very slowly at a huge amount of £50 a week

[Sir Fynwy]

I've been robbing tax payers blind for nearly 3 years now.

Cheers lads loving the free booze

That's alright smuts we're just going to make you work for the next 45 years to pay for it and your pension will be fooked up by the time you retire as well

[l444ry]

Don't agree that these scumbags should be paid a "reasonable" salary. They get £64,000 per year, which is greater than 95% of wage earners in this country. And they also get 21 weeks paid holiday.

There is a complete whitewash unfolding before our eyes. Whatever they might say, fraud has been committed here. The chicken run to repay some of these expenses is just a ruse to avoid this matter going any further and to avoid legal proceedings.

[Dr The Singh]

I want to become an MP!!!!!

[Zingari]

I want to become an MP!!!!!

if sinn fein can get seats not to sit in , i'm sure there's room for another terrorist , not to sit in the house

[MC Prussian]

I want to become an MP!!!!!

And I thought you wanted to rule this country from a throne!!!

Bitterly disappointed you're giving in to parliamentocracy.

Crazy.

[James.]

Half the number of MP's, pay them twice as much - problem solved.

[davieG]

Half the number of MP's, pay them half as much - problem solved.

Better!

It's the 'holier than though' attitude they portray that gets me - are these the same MPs, that draw attention from their failings by suggesting that it's benefit cheats we should be getting serious with?

They along with some of the so called Captains of Industry & Finance who reward themselves for failure are the ones that need watching and reigning in. I'd hazard a guess that benefit fraud is a drop in the ocean by comparison.

[Dr The Singh]

if sinn fein can get seats not to sit in , i'm sure there's room for another terrorist , not to sit in the house

Ultra will be pleased, it will give him more reason to hide behind his keyboard!!!

[Dr The Singh]

And I thought you wanted to rule this country from a throne!!!

Bitterly disappointed you're giving in to parliamentocracy.

Crazy.

You got it wrong Alexi, I meant MP as in Male Pornstar, I hope that clears things up!!!!

[James.]

Better!

It's the 'holier than though' attitude they portray that gets me - are these the same MPs, that draw attention from their failings by suggesting that it's benefit cheats we should be getting serious with?

They along with some of the so called Captains of Industry & Finance who reward themselves for failure are the ones that need watching and reigning in. I'd hazard a guess that benefit fraud is a drop in the ocean by comparison.

You need to attract a better calibre of people. Paying them 64k or whatever might sound like a good salary but people with leadership and expertise will work in the private sector for more than twice that. This leaves you with a bunch of egotistical power merchants who don't have the necessary talent to run a country.