Buzzin Disgrace

After the backlash in the past few months that MP’s have faced over receiving a staggering £24,006 per year to furnish their second homes, you would have expected the majority of them would voted not to keep it. But on the contrary, not only did they vote to keep the outrageous allowance paid by taxpayers for what has become known as The John Lewis List, this morning I was fuming as I listened to Ian Davidson, Labour MP for Glasgow attempting to justify his ridiculous argument.

Ian Davidson stated that unlike a doctor or a teacher who may be offered a job miles away from a family home, he has no choice, as a member of parliament, to work at Westminster; and thereby declaring his justification that if he and other MP’s need to work in London they require tax payers money to furnish their second home for their comfort.

This obnoxious, outlandish and simply ridiculous argument obviously annoyed other listeners to Radio 5 Live as much as it did me, judging by the texts that were read out after his crass argument.

Firstly, yes you DO have a choice. DON’T TAKE THE JOB if you can’t afford to. I can’t afford the mortgage for one family home in the south-east of England, let alone two. Sure, I would get a higher wage if I were to work in London, but then I don’t expect taxpayers to pay for me to live near where I work; and either buying or renting accommodation or indeed costs of commuting would necessarily need to be weighed up when I made my decision to take the job in the first place.

Secondly, Ian Davidson (and others) DO have a choice. Become an MP in the Scottish parliament - your own country!

In his argument he attempted to justify that the £24,006 additional costs allowance used for mortgage or rent payments and/or for furnishing second homes, is a one-off annual payment and therefore it is up to individual MP’s what they wish to spend it on. So if Gordon Brown wishes to have taxpayers pay for his Sky Digital tv package, that’s ok; and if another MP wishes to spend his allowances of paintings, that’s ok too.

This allowance is approximately the same figure as what is suggested to be the average wage. But there are many hard working people in the UK that eran far less than this ridiculous waste of tax payers money.

I agree 100% with Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, who said:

“MPs have missed a crucial opportunity to restore faith in parliament. By clinging to the plasma screen TVs and luxury kitchens allowed by the John Lewis list they have shown astonishing arrogance and disregard for people’s concerns.”