when a Peer can nominate a property as his main home by spending just one night a month in it. This is the ruling apparently of a Mr Pownall, who is in charge of policing Peer’s expenses claims. I suspect Lord Taylor’s fraudulent activities is but a very small tip of a very large ermine-clad iceberg. Does Mr Pownall understand what to be in charge of policing expenses’ claims means? I do wonder…
Author: coldwaterjohn
CWJ travelled extensively with his family, having worked in eleven countries over thirty years. A keen photographer, holding a Private Pilot's Licence, he focuses mainly on landscape and aerial imagery. Having worked in the Middle East extensively he follows developments in that region with particular interest, and views with growing concern, the radicalisation flowing from Islamic fundamentalism, and the intolerance for opposing views, stemming from it.
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Boadicea's Chariot 
I’m sure he does know but I understand he and his staff has been subject to enormous pressure and what I would term bullying from this overpaid, trough snuffling, self serving, lying, thieving, scroffulous, imperious, callous,slimey, slippery bunch ever to put themselves on the gravy train that is British Politics today.
and that’s just the House of Lords you are referring to, OMG!
I know, I wont tell you what I think of the bums and gangsters who infest ‘the other place, ‘ I might get banned.
Oh, do tell, I’m sure it can’t shock many of us 🙂
Time for an investigation of the Lords’ expenses ?
I would suggest past time.
Sadly, it’s the same the world over. Anyone of whatever political persuasion suckling on the public purse anywhere who scrambles to the top of the greasy pole seems suddenly to believe the plebs owe them a living, and a very good one at that. For example, “We must all cut carbon emissions and you lot are going to be taxed to fly me first class to a five-star, air conditioned resort in Bali so I can tell you exactly that.”
OZ
OZ, in fairness to Cameron, he forced a pay cut on all of the Cabinet. You might well argue that they can all afford to take one. Perhaps I kid myself that the one advantage of having statesmen (and I don’t mean our present lot, necessarily by that term) of great wealth, is that they don’t need to fiddle the system, like poor boys suddenly made good and catapulted several branches up the social tree – Lord Taylor comes to mind in that category.
For instance I can’t imagine Douglas Hurd or Alec Douglas-Home (Baron Home of the Hirsel) for instance, claiming for imaginary main homes. On the other hand I suppose there is always the odd wealthy rogue claiming to have his moat cleaned, but has it not ever been thus with humanity? For the record, I clean my own pond 🙂
CWJ – Fair point – Baron Home and Lord Taylor as poles apart in every respect, although I would argue the toss that ‘wealth’ can in any way be be equated to ‘statesman’. Any poor boy who suddenly makes it good (as opposed to makes good) and then assumes some divine right to milk the rest of us is clearly the wrong type of poor boy. The same can obviously be said about any rich kid who does the same.
OZ
You all suffering from colour blindness today?
Que, Christina? As Manuel would say – are you referring to the apparently disproportionate number of Asian members of the House who seemed to have been caught up in the Commons’ expenses scandal?
There is no excuse for dishonesty, although there will be some who suggest that it may have something to do with the culture in which they grew up…what excuse do our Anglo-Saxon members offer for their dishonesty?
Talking of dishonesty, I was wondering what the Koran has to say about Muslim leaders who spend years defrauding their own countrymen and then grab as much of the country’s gold reserves as they can before scarpering.
Presumably Baroness Uddin is simply practising this islamic lying we hear so much about. What the Labour MPs give as an excuse, I have no idea. Obviously being a member of the Labour party would suggest a fair dose of hypocrisy and a skewed set of values anyway.
I was listening to BBC R4 yesterday whilst taking the dogs for their walk. There was an item in which it was reported that the Indian anti corruption minister (or some such title) had retired, and in his valedictory speech said that the top strata of Indian society was corrupt and the remainder were verging on it. Not a totally accurate quote but close enough I think.