Is every other MP therefore not providing a good enough service?

Can only people who have spouses who can afford to subsidise their activities as an MP or are wealthy enough to do so themselves able to be good MPs?

In reality this amounts to a £100 000 annual bribe to her constituents in the form of more case workers etc which a less wealthy MP would not be able to afford to provide.

1. In itself, you don’t have to declare money from a joint account; it’s only if it’s someone else’s money and is used in a way that counts as a donation that you do.

That seems to me quite reasonable. After all, if joint accounts were exempt, I could give a large sum of money to the spouse of an MP who in turn could pay it into a joint account and the MP could then spend it: so I could give large sums of money to an MP in a completely secret manner. Would that really be desirable?

2. Depending on what the true sums are, in total they might well add up to over £1 million. I wouldn’t count that as trivial when you’re talking about one person’s finances (Bill Gates and co aside!).

It may be so but if it is so it’s bollocks. The whole system is bollocks and I am disgusted by the pernickety and vindictive attitude taken by much of the media to trivial amounts of money (including too many people in this party – and it’s dodgy ground because sooner or later they will go for one of our people anyway).

As for attacking people for owning two houses, how infantile can you get?

It’s time for a sense of perspective on these things.

Islington South Labour MP Emily Thornberry & her husband reported as having FOUR houses! Needless to say, she has been running campaigns for affordable housing …

The latest acquisition is covered here: http://andymayer.blogspot.com/2007/08/housing-hypocrisy-from-labours-5th-most.html