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Euro Parliament Gravy Train: Tories, Libs Ten Years After
Richard Corbett MEP (Labour) explains how wrong opposition parties have been on Gravy Train transparency. Almost ten years behind in introducing checks and balances. Shame on them.
MEANWHILE: Guido has another MEP Pork Belly on a spit. And a commenter draws attention to Benedict Brogan's news of pre-mortem by-election planning ... in Fifeshire.
9 comments:
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EU waste and corruption , yes a good subject from the Party who ahs just signed away the country on the basis of an infantile lie about the new status of a Constitution. How funny if the whole preposterous assault on the country is tripped up by the Irish
You will always get corruption when money is not earned in a competitive environment .This is why socialism does not work
I think the interesting question re the MEPs is why they chose to pass their expenses through a company - when the company in effect makes the amounts transparent and subject to audit, and companies cost money to run. My guess is they were looking for a little advantage in terms of income tax and VAT (and hence requiring the UK tax payer to pay more to compensate)
While Mr Cameron is in his whiter than white mode perhaps he should also have a word with the Tatton Conservatives who according to page 2 of their latest accounts (see link below)appear to think that handing out little George's tax payer funded Westminster Report is part of their campaigning activities - so much so that they even volunteered to do so. I presume the Tatton Conservatives will now be paying for the report and all their campaigning costs.
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/files/dms/Conservative-Party-Tatton-Statement-of-Accounts-2007_29680-22126__E__N__S__W__.pdf
"Transparency" is the wrong word. Labour MEP's expenses are audited - but not published or subject to public scrutiny.
It is a dozen Tory MEPs who have resisted requests for data. I think the other parties have provided the data? And it is the Tory Group who do not audit and are in this sticky mess now.
And an audit of this kind gives some comfort on compliance. Surely?
Of course Chris Davis MEP publishes his exes on his website and has done all along AFAIK, so credit where credit is due for that.
What toss from Newmania Chris. His lot caught feasting on lashings of gravy and he tries to change the subject. And what's more to one where the Tories have nothing to be proud of having denied referenda on far more serious matters.
Open Europe has been asking questions and the majority of Labour MEPs have not responded ... so not sure that it can be implied that it is only 'Tory MEPs who have resisted requests for data'.
The link is here.http://www.openeurope.org.uk/media-centre/summary.aspx?id=607
Yes Evan, I have seen the stats thanks. From memory 45% of Tories, 30% of Libs and 18% of LP MEPs had provided varying degrees of answers to six questions from OE. I have an idea comrade Corbett has offered some critique of this process and/or the BBC coverage of it. Was going to blog about it when I had the time to find that.
But there is no getting away from the situation of LP MEPs being subject to successful audit for 8 years plus - more than the EU itself! - while Chichester, Dover and other Names-of-Coastal-Towns Tory MEPs are being found out and disciplined for the gravest breaches of the rules.
Who's ahead of you on the Welsh list? Can't be one of the miscreants as it a non-MEP is it not?
The OE link you provide is here but OE who? might be a reasonable response if you've been through an existing audit process.
PS 100% of Greens and 70% of UKIPpers I think too.
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