On Tuesday evening, LDV emailed those Lib Dem party members signed-up to our private discussion forum inviting them to take part in a survey focusing on MPs’ expenses. Many thanks to the 230+ of you who have so far completed it; we’ll be publishing the results on LDV over the next few days. You can catch up on the results of all our past exclusive LDV members’ surveys by clicking here.

1.

LDV asked, Which of the following statements most closely matches your own view:

And here’s what you told us:

>> 38% – The alleged abuses by MPs of the allowances system is an issue of fundamental importance to the political system.

>> 56% – The alleged abuses by MPs of the allowances system is an important issue, but the reporting of it has sometimes been over-the-top.

>> 4% – The alleged abuses by MPs of the allowances system is pretty trivial compared with the other issues facing this country.

>> 1% – Don’t know / Other.

2.

We then asked: The Daily Telegraph has been running the MPs’ expenses story, having apparently obtained stolen data by paying a source up to £100,000. MPs’ expenses were due to be published by Parliament itself in June after a long-running FOI campaign. Some have criticised the Telegraph’s actions as ‘chequebook journalism’, while others have defended the paper for exposing the alleged abuses of the allowance system by MPs. Do you think, on balance, the Daily Telegraph’s actions have been:

Here’s what you said:

>> 72% – Justified – the Telegraph was right to buy the data and to publish it.

>> 14% – Unjustified – the Telegraph was wrong to buy the data and should not have published it.

>> 14% – Don’t know / Other.

3.

Finally (for today), we asked: Which statement do you agree with most:

>> 11% – “Only a handful of MPs have abused the expenses system”

>> 76% – “A significant minority of MPs have abused the expenses system”

>> 11% – “Most MPs have abused the expenses system”

>> 2% – Don’t know / Other

(When I get chance the comments submitted by those who completed the survey will be posted in LDV’s private members-only discussion forum).