How do you solve a problem like "Maria" Miller?

Over the weekend the expenses scandal has re emerged thanks to conservative MP for Basingstoke that big Tory area? Five days after that 32-second apology in the House of Commons, Maria Miller continues to generate awkward headlines. Speculation about the culture secretary's future won't go down well either in Downing Street or in the Wales Office. With David Cameron standing by his minister, the more mischievous speculation among MPs and journalists at Westminster suggests that rather than sacking Mrs. Miller, the prime minister could move her to a lower-profile role - such as secretary of state for Wales - in the reshuffle expected at the end of next month. Mrs. Miller may be MP for Basingstoke but she grew up in Bridgend, where her parents lived until they moved to London to share what became one of the best-known MPs' second homes. So why not give her the chance to return to her roots? The beleaguered minister would be taken out of the firing line and David Cameron would avoid losing a woman from around his cabinet table. Problem solved! Or perhaps not. Replacing David Jones with Mrs. Miller would not go down well with either Mr. Jones or with Welsh Tories despite public disagreements with the party's group in the National Assembly for Wales. One MP told me it would be a "disaster". The idea that someone seen as unsuitable for a cabinet role because she miss-used the expenses system could be reshuffled to Wales would not be universally applauded west of Offa's Dyke. It would be a gift to the Tories' opponents, with shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith tweeting: "Rumours that Maria Miller is set to become Welsh secretary in a forthcoming reshuffle. What have we done to deserve that?" Did she owe £5,800 or £45,000? The Standards Commissioner thought it should be the higher amount. Why? Because Kathryn Hudson concluded that Maria Miller could only claim the interest on the purchase price of her "second home" in 1996. The MPs on the Committee on Standards (which reviews the ruling above) disagree. They say Mrs Miller was entitled to claim interest on the value of the mortgage as it was in 2005 - when Mrs Miller was elected to Parliament as an MP. The Chair of that Committee, Kevin Barron (a Labour MP) firmly stands by that conclusion. Did she 'flip' her second home to avoid paying Capital Gains Tax? More complex. From 1996-2005 the house in question (in Wimbledon, in south-west London) was owned by Mrs Miller in her private capacity (as a non-MP). From her election in 2005 and until 2009, it was designated her second home - and thus she was entitled to claim for the mortgage interest on it - as the rules were then on MPs expenses. In April 2009, she stopped claiming for the London house. But neither did she claim for her constituency home in Basingstoke. So she made no second home claims from that date. Her office says she stopped making those claims before she received a letter informing all MPs that they would now be liable for Capital Gains Tax (currently 28%) should they sell a house on which they have claimed as a second home. The letter arrived at the end of May 2009, her office claims. This means from 2009 to 2014 - Maria Miller made no claims for either her London home or her Basingstoke home. She currently rents a property in London (as the new expenses regime recommends). In February 2014 - the London home is sold - at a profit. Any Capital Gains Tax due (and it's not clear if there is) would fall in the tax year 2013/14 and so would not need to be paid until January 2015. Was her apology too short? Watch: Maria Miller's apology to MPs on expenses It was short - of that there can be no doubt. The 32-second long statement was described by Labour MP Sheila Gilmore today as "inadequate to the point of being contemptuous". It reinforces the perception that she didn't care and further damages her after the Committee and Commissioner claimed Mrs Miller has breached the code of conduct by her "attitude" to the investigation. That may in the end do the most damage. The public like to see their public servants acting in a contrite way when they have made a mistake. It would be safe to say Mrs Miller's apology did not satisfy the public demands on a level of length, contrition or detail. Her office says MPs apologies have historically been short. Although I am not sure comparing her apology to the one made by Nadine Dorries (23 seconds) is a particularly wise move Clearly she has to go fiddling your expenses to cover your second or third home is a disgrace and by her hanging around just makes the Tories look out of tough, which of course they are which is why she hasn’t offered her resignation. One last point remember back after the riots of 2011 a guy who stole a bottle of water was given 2 years in jail well Maria may wish to consider her stealing from the public purse and getting away with it and its inconsistencies. Is it any wonder people think all politicians are in it for themselves??

Say no to Mp’s having a pay rise for workers representatives on a workers wage!

It has emerged that MP’s are to vote themselves an increase in their pay of an average of 11% on what they already earn. This is a recommendation from IPSA the body who now oversee’s MP’s pay and expenses since the expenses scandal. Of course Mp’s will have to approve this but there is no doubt many MP’s feel themselves hard done by and wish to be paid more. Some MP’s claim they could earn more elsewhere as chief executives of companies or even as head teachers in schools. This is all nonsense of course MP’s are already in the top bracket of pay in this country and any increase will shatter the myth that we are all in this together with public sector workers for example being in the middle of a long term pay freeze which in affect is a big pay cut if you take into consideration inflation.. MPs' pay should be increased to £74,000 a year from 2015, the Commons expenses watchdog has said. MPs currently earn £66,396. But the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) also recommends cuts to perks such as meal allowances and taxis and a less generous pension scheme. The BBC has learnt that an independent review into MPs' salaries is to recommend a pay rise of more than 11%, compared with what they are paid now, to be implemented after the next general election. But the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) will unveil proposals which will also include cuts to MPs' pensions and expenses. The package they will propose will include: • An increase in MPs' salary to around £74,000 - a rise of over £7,500 a year from the current salary of £66,396 a year. • A less generous pension scheme • Cuts to MPs' evening meal allowance - an extra payment if they work late - and restrictions to claims for taxi fares • Lower "resettlement grants" paid to MPs who lose their seats I really don’t think ordinary working people will swallow this and will further anger them with the cuts they are facing too it will not go down well with many people. What we need are Workers representatives on a workers wage. Militant MP’s who were elected in the 1980’s Terry Fields, Dave Nellist and Pat Wall all only took the average wage of a skilled worker of the area they represented. They took no expenses and only used the money they got to do their job nothing more. Any excess was handed back and independently checked to the labour movement and the party they represented. Having MP’s who don’t go into politics to further their own financial interests is key. This is TUSC’s pledge that if any of our candidates are elected none of them would benefit by entering into parliament. They are there to give a voice to working people and the voiceless it should not be a ticket to a free lunch.

Capitalism is corruption

Capitalism wasn’t always like this it did play a progressive role for a time. Yet today it is hard to imagine a progressive era for this parasitical system which is more and more becoming a drag on society and our development as a human race. Corruption is everywhere we look in society now. Any falsehood of democracy is quickly fading away as bourgeois democracy crashes from crisis to crisis. In the last decade we had the expenses scandal which rocked trust in MP’s to their very foundation. The lies and deceit publically displayed by all politicians be them Labour, Tory Lib dem and now Greens who tried to pose as anti cuts and radical only to push through the cuts in Brighton City Council this year shamefully. From all parts of the establishment there is distrust and often contempt from the media to the police to our parliament and undemocratic House’s of Parliament including the unelected lords. It is no wonder society is divided with an establishment which is tearing itself apart too. With a ruling class split as explained in a previous blog post is causing a huge discourse in society where many are dies interested in politics and have good reason to be. Many think politics is not for them and it’s something that those in suits do. This is not true politics is everything and for everyone. A new workers party will have huge challenges to deal with most notably apathy and dies trust of all parties telling them they can help them. I think the point is to agree with people who tell us they hate all politicians. We do too and we are on their side one of you ordinary workers wanting to change society. Capitalism while in one of its biggest downturns possibly ever is finding it difficult to remain true to democracy. Democracy is a means to a end not a end in itself and for the ruling class is something they can do away with if need be but it is the cheapest form of control on the mass’s as the illusions of democracy hold some back from drawing the conclusions for a time. Capitalism is rooted in corruption from the labour theory of value onwards its the suction of surplus value from wage labourers that starts it all off. Corruption has grown to huge huge levels from that stage. Its time it all ends. Everywhere we look the dangers of a breakup in society is clear corruption whilst built in to the capitalist system can seep through into the labour movement and certainly this has been true in parts of the tops of the trade unions. Change needs to happen from the bottom up. Starting with the fight for the highest form of democracy at all levels starting at the bottom sweeping aside the rotten paracitical capitalist system as we go.

Why i feel all MP's should only claim a average skilled workers wage

This is a socialist policy that i do strongly agree with that we feel all elected representitives who claim to represent the working class should only claim the average skilled labourers wage and no more expenses. It has only just died down but the expenses scandels are still there and leaving a big scar on the Westminster bubble which seems increasingly detached from the rest of reality.

ive. been looking at a article below which puts the case for all MP's to not gain all these expenses which has damaged the trust people have in them beyond repair i feel but if they only took a average workers wage the public would not see them as above them ain any way.
If any socialist from be it TUSC or any other anti cuts direction will always look to only claim the average workers wage and no more.


During the expenses scandel the SHEER arrogance of MPs is astounding. Caught like rabbits in a car's headlights, they still claim they did nothing wrong when they asked us to pay for everything from KitKats to clearing out the family moat! Some of them are now offering to pay back some money but only because of the outrage from ordinary workers.

The only thing more astounding than the arrogance is the excuses. Apparently, MPs have to be able to claim lavish expenses so they can get to work on time.

One MP, whose constituency is in Luton, had her second home in Southampton, so she could maintain her relationship with her partner. No doubt, low-paid women workers who often have to take up several different jobs to secure a decent wage will be sympathetic!

Women who clean offices in the morning, work as teaching assistants or in a school kitchen by day, then have another job in the evening will know all about not seeing their family and ensuring that they get to each job on time. Not for them though, the luxury of a second home and taxi fares at taxpayers' expense.

Even when they clearly acted against the rules, MPs' excuses are that they over-claimed as they were 'too busy' to check. The trade union members who I represent would have been disciplined and sacked if they had used such a lame defence if they had ever been found to have over-claimed.

Yet, while MPs are living it up, we're expected to tighten our belts to pay for the economic crisis. In Greenwich, where I am a trade union representative, the council's latest cuts proposals will mean that care managers, responsible for putting together care packages for the elderly, will lose up to £5,000 a year from their salary.

Mental health social workers are to lose £400 a month and the children's social work team based at the local Queen Elizabeth Hospital is to be disbanded despite all the concerns raised about child protection.

Parents, together with Unison and the Socialist Party, are continuing to fight the closure of Charlotte Turner School [see page 11]. The council insists on this closure despite a huge majority of people telling the council, via its consultation exercise, that the school must stay open.

We need real workers' representatives to stand up for workers. The politicians, the government and the councils are not listening. We need a voice for the working class.

As the recession grows deeper, more and more people will demand that politicians stand up for ordinary people. They will want a bailout for the workers, not the bankers.

No such alternative can be found in the great hydra-headed Labour/Tory/LibDem parliamentary monster, which worships capitalism and the millionaires. We need a new workers' party to stand up for the millions.

When this new party wins members of parliament, it will need to withstand the pressures from MPs who don't bother trying to get a better deal for workers. When MPs get lavish expenses for often imaginary second homes, what do they care if more and more people find it impossible to pay for their only one?

From 1983 to 1992, socialists Dave Nellist and the late Terry Fields and Pat Wall became MPs. They only accepted the average wage level of a skilled worker and the expenses needed to do their jobs, which were fully vetted by local trade unionists. All the rest was donated back to workers' causes locally, nationally and internationally.


I myself think this is a excellent positive policiy to have and shows that as socialists we will not lavish our career's and try to do over the class we represent. If i ever stood for election which i may do i too will only claim a average workers wage. People say it is not enough for the hard work MP's do. I dispute this prefusely as although MP's have big responsibilities i fail to see how their work deserves big wages and almost unlimited expenses paid for by the good old tax payer.

Sure their job may be challenging but is it more challenging than a nurses, soldier, firefighter or a social worker for example. I really dont think it is i would say there is a case for wages to be increased across the board with a eventual level of a living wage increasing year on year to represent inflation and growth.

But i fail to see how a MP deserves big expenses while average workers struggle to get by. SO the case for all elected representitives national or council or on a European level should always be rooted in the working class's and that means not claiming and putting yourself on a pedestall above the rest of the class your supposed to represent .