Monday, May 25, 2009

Rotting Cabinet Chokes On Its Own Greed

Bad apples in the cabinet have been caught out troughing and fiddling at the taxpayers expense in another scandalous abuse of public money. But are there signs of remorse and doing the honourable thing? Are there heck.

Laying bare a greedy cabinet rotten to the core, beleaguered Brown's "smearing" side-kick Balls tried it on with a claim for Remembrance poppy wreaths and nine cabinet cronies used taxpayers cash to pay for accountants to fiddle their expenses.

On a day when they should hang their heads in shame, the smug and arrogant bunch of spivs and crooks grandstand with the smokescreen of electoral reform and bunkered Brown brings chaos to the country, refusing calls from the people for an early election. 

The rotten core at the heart of government comes in the latest revelations from the Telegraph with the seedy greedy cabinet back in the firing line with taxpayers forking out for a mind-boggling list of extras as the scandalous cabinet fleeced the public for all it's worth. 

Top of the dung heap is schools secretary Balls, already up to his neck in damaging allegations over triple flipping his second homes with treasury minister wife Cooper. Well shielded by Downing Street, he now faces the damning, damaging allegation that he tried to claim for the cost of two Remembrance Wreaths before his claim was thrown out by the fees office.  

And to top it all, Brown's golden cabinet couple claimed £30,000 for car and train journeys, including £4,100 for their four young children, according to the Mail.

Having a laugh at the taxpayers' expense, nine cabinet members, including hapless Darling had the gall to get their tax advice on the taxpayer, charging the public for accountants to do their personal tax returns. 

While ordinary folk struggle knee-deep in paperwork with self-assessment tax forms, the cabinet bunged the expenses on expenses and sent taxpayers the bill. 

Trying to claim the cost of an accountant to fill in a tax form as a legitimate business expense wouldn't get past the taxman. And that now begs the question - if Darling can't handle his own tax return, how the hell can he cope with the country's finances?

But it's the revelation over miserly Balls and his poppy wreaths which sticks in the throat. Only recently Tory MP James Gray, caused outrage when he was accused of doing the same thing. He faced instant calls for the sack, rightly branded a "copper-bottomed shit". 

But a Tory backbencher is one thing, a top government minister with his eye on the treasury top job, it seems is quite another. 

Bunkered Brown has already branded bleating Blears dodgy claims as "completely unacceptable". Will he now come out of hiding to castigate most of his rotten cabinet? Highly unlikely. If just one greedy fiddling cabinet minister does the honourable thing and quits, the whole rotten pack of corrupt cards collapse. 

MPs are spending another long break at the taxpayers expense counting the cost of their expenses and facing the wrath of voters now desperate for a general election. Left shocked and disgusted wondering if it could really get any worse, today it did.

The chancing chancellor was among nine members of the cabinet who used taxpayer funded expenses to pay for an accountant to complete their personal tax returns, disclosed by the Telegraph.
 
Darling, along with others including Blears, Hoon and Smith, all claimed for the costs of accountancy advice, using expenses intended to fund their parliamentary and constituency offices.

Most of the cabinet are already up to their neck fiddling expenses and dodgy second homes deals. Only Johnson has a totally clean bill of health. Now several cabinet ministers stand accused of manipulating the expenses system for personal gain by claiming for accountants. That's fraud in anyone's book.  The Taxman and Knacker of the Yard should be on the case.

Other ministers who claimed for personal tax advice include foreign secretary Miliband, environment secretary Benn, work and pensions secretary Purnell, and international development secretary Alexander.

Some secretaries they've turned out to be. Instead of claiming for run of the mill office running costs and stationery, ministers are charging taxpayers for life's little luxuries. 

Taxpayers have been coughing up on media trainers for three members of the cabinet including Brown's deputy Party leader, Harman.

Fancy a free digital camera or camcorder? No problem. Eight ministers, including chief secretary to the treasury, Cooper and Blears bought digital cameras or camcorders using office expenses.

And several ministers were warned by the commons authorities for trying to use parliamentary expenses to fund "overtly political campaigning".

An iPhone for the other half? Not content with taxpayers footing the bill for hubby's penchant for porn, two homes secretary Smith claimed for one for her husband who works as her assistant.

Dithering Brown is under pressure to heed the will of the people and call an early election to clear the air of the rotten stench at Westminster and the disgrace of those MPs up to their necks in sleazy scandal.

But instead of facing up to their crimes, Brown and his cabinet cronies hide away in the bunker of shame, playing for time,  hoping it will all go away. 

Today squeaky clean Blairite prop Johnson threw his hat in the leadership ring, put up as a smokescreen to change the narrative grandstanding grand ideas about electoral reform while trying to wrong foot the Brownites and the Tories with Mandy pulling his strings. 

Corruption at the very heart of government is eating away at itself. The public have had enough. Electoral reform, constitutional reform? Political posturing. That is then, this is now. 

A new government will have a clear mandate from the people to clear up the squalid expenses mess once and for all. Only next time, with the public on its back, the new kids on the block will have to keep their word, instead of making cheap promises on the steps of Number 10.  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The more I read of this the more it seems as if M.P.'s banked their salary and every living cost was down to expenses,I would wager even their tax bills were scalped from expenses.My wife want's to know who paid for Brown's new teeth we think somehow it was covered by expenses and if it was when he's thrown out we want them back