Helen Duffett

Brian Coleman in “mad, bad and sad” expenses smokescreen

By | Tue 7th July 2009 - 5:56 pm

London Assembly Member Brian Coleman is refusing to publish details of his expenses, despite the Mayor, his advisors and the other 24 members of the Assembly agreeing to do so voluntarily.

Apparently a graduate of the Anthony Steen Charm School for Politicians, Coleman has blamed bloggers for being interested in how taxpayers’ money is spent:

“I won’t do it voluntarily. It’s none of the public’s business. They have coped well without knowing this kind of detail for more than 75 years. They are not entitled to drool over our personal lives. I’m not going to help the mad, bad and the sad, the bloggers on the internet. I’m not pandering to mob rule. It undermines democracy to suggest that all MPs, all politicians are the spawn of Beelzebub.

“Politicians with lower expenses tend to be the politicians who do least work. Those with higher expenses are the ones who do most work.” [London Evening Standard]

Hard to see how “the most work” extends to running up a £378 taxi bill, mostly as a result of asking a cab to wait from him with the meter running while he attended a banquet.

Even Mayor Boris Johnson is said to be “disappointed” at Coleman’s lack of transparency.

See Adam Bienkov’s analysis at Tory Troll on why Brian Coleman is an expensive liability for Boris.

Read more by or more about , , , or .
This entry was posted in London and News.
Advert

4 Comments

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • PM
    "the general public perception that somehow the BoE Base Rate is linked to the cost of borrowing" This is because it is. The banks can always ...
  • Pawel Urbanski
    Jana - I like it. It is addressing the issue practically. The pitch is never empty and the operator loses nothing. The harder part comes later. Rules, even cont...
  • cim
    The constitutional preamble has two big problems with it as a statement of "what the Lib Dems are for" 1) As a statement of principle it doesn't distinguish ...
  • Jason Connor
    I think it's really disappointing to see another poster call those who disagree with them a numpty. That kind of patronising insult devalues their argument. The...
  • David Evans
    No! What are you thinking about?...