Pigs in the Trough

Isn't it ironic during the week that swine flu became the hottest topic of conversation for Britons, the hot political topic at Westminster was MPs expenses. Whilst the British parties with normal political rules of engagement in mind have tried to claim victory following this weeks Parliamentary deliberations, the rest of us who have to work for a living look on in disbelief.

At a time when people are worried about losing their jobs and homes, our politicians priorities seem only to be concerned with making sure they don't lose their lucrative financial perks for being our elected representatives. After all, who are we to condone the use of public money for property speculation; for paying family members vastly inflated wages;and a John Lewis catalogue list to furnish their publicly funded second homes. Not to mention a gold plated pension scheme enough to make mere mortals drool.

What's for sure is that with the FOI victory over all expenses at Westminster due to come out in July, things are about to get far worse. It's a well know fact in the drinking holes of Westminster village that MPs favourite conversation is to compete on the most ridiculous purchase they have been able to make on their expenses. The credibility of politics could be fatally undermined.

Not that our AMs are immune from abuse. Most have luxury flats when the rest of us have to commute those same distances; £2k sofas; i pods not to speak of the Assembly's 'village idiot' Nick Ramsay posing for a Western Mail photo shoot with his new Sony LCD TV. we've even had AMs bullying the amending of rules so that they can continue to claim for a second home despite living within easy commuting distance of their place of work.

THe Government at UK level and the National Assembly Commission in the very least should in the first instance take immediate retrospective action to reclaim all property bought by current elected members, so that any equity incurred at the end of a political career returns to public funds.

Here lies an opportunity for the National Assembly and proponents of devolution. A definite act to clean up abuse of expenses once and for all would generate substantial public support, and the let the MPs squabble indefinitely in London as they try to protect their income supplements.