This morning The Telegraph reported that Conservative MP Sir Peter Viggers would stand down at the next election, at the request of David Cameron, having claimed over £30,000 in gardening-related expenses, including £1600.00 for a floating duck house. Some wags wondered whether it fell under the MPs’ second home category. Another Tory grandee, Michael Fallon, MP, overclaimed £8300.00 in mortgage [...]
Category Archives: Policy
No, Cameron, you can't have an election in our democracy – because you would win!
May 21, 2009 – 9:26 am
While the stench of corruption dissipates, like the fear of swine flu, because we’re all bored now and the Tories are just as culpable, there is a serious danger that Brown and his larcenous mates will get away with it. This vile jelly must be nailed to the wall. Let’s have an election – or [...]
Thus interprets the UK MP's expenses guidelines, for the (sole) benefit of honourable members
May 18, 2009 – 4:10 pm
All this “I stuck to the Rules” stuff delivered to camera by our alternately defiant or ashen faced betters in the Mother of Parliaments prompted me to take a look at the rules (the “Green Book”) of which we’ve heard so much. It’s less than gripping stuff but, as rule books go, it’s fairly clear [...]
Britain's corrupt politicians deserve a break – send them to prison
May 15, 2009 – 6:52 pm
Thus has steered clear of the Tsunami of revelations about abuse of UK MPs’ expenses and allowances, mainly because we predicted it several weeks ago: “It beggars belief that the Secretary for Employment and Welfare Reform should be found to be either incompetent in his interpretation of Parliamentary allowances rules, or disingenous in their interpretation. [...]
It's official! Phil Woolas is a Ghurka jerka
May 7, 2009 – 5:31 pm
We have steered clear of the Ghurka Veterans campaign thus far, on the grounds that there is little to add to the clear injustice of refusing to grant permanent resident status, and indeed, full army pensions, to serving and ex-members of the Nepalese Brigade of Ghurkas. Last week, the UK government, probably the only people in [...]
Why is Mandelson trying to push for Royal Mail privatisation?
April 21, 2009 – 7:50 pm
According to the Independent (21 April), Gordon Brown faces growing pressure from mutinous Labour backbenchers to ditch or delay moves to partly privatise Royal Mail. Party whips have warned the prime minister, who is already dealing with the ‘smeargate’ scandal, that the plans have stretched the loyalty of his MPs to breaking point. ‘Lord’ Peter [...]
Random facts about funhouse Britain from Thus
April 14, 2009 – 12:30 pm
In no particular order, and with no special weighting, here are a few facts gleaned from the media with help from friends of Thus at Ten. Please feel free to send in your own facts. We need them in this era of spin and errant fantasy: 68% of Britons believe that MP’s salaries are ‘too [...]
Email update: Brown sends personal letters of apology and abdicates government blame
April 14, 2009 – 11:12 am
Over 72 hours after the McBride/Draper/Whelan poisoned email plot was revealed, and 12 hours after UK Government Minister Alan Johnson had denied the need to do so on national radio, Gordon Brown stopped saving the world for a minute and tried instead to save his own skin. The fact that he still refuses to issue [...]
Mandelson spends £500 per week on flowers for his office
March 24, 2009 – 8:39 am
According to The Sun (so it must be true), the fragrant ‘Lord’ Peter Mandelson, Business Minister of the sinking ship of state formerly known as UK Plc. spends £500.00 of taxpayers’ money per week (£25,000 per year) on flowers for his office. If so, he is only following in the footsteps of another old Tony [...]
An open letter to Gordon Brown, saviour of the world's banks, apart from Iceland, the UK and . . .
March 17, 2009 – 12:52 am
As Gordon and Alastair puff out their chests and iron their M+S Let’s Pretend We’re Businessmen suits (made in Indonesia) to host the G20 Global Summit on the global economy, a letter from Steven Katirai, whose Google search reveals him as a capital markets consultant based in the North East of England, has been doing the rounds [...]