This seems to be the week for questions over MPs and their expenses, so this time it’s back to Richard Benyon, MP for Newbury and the man with the disappearing blog.
A quick recap: his website says it is paid for out of MP expenses, but the blog on it had content that isn’t allowed under the rules controlling use of expenses. The blog is no-longer on the website, though his “Westminster Diary” still is.
Take a look at that, and what do we find? More content that looks to me like it isn’t allowed under the rules for MP expenses. Oooops. Here’s part of the 26 May 2008 entry:
The Labour Party chose to base their campaign on a class war tactic. This was plain daft. [Click here for screenshot]
And so it goes on. Once again, it looks like a very straight-forward case of the rules stopping MP expenses being used for party political propaganda having been broken.
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Meanwhile Dave Hennigan is trousering some £40,000 per annum on the parliamentary pay roll and continually putting out party political not parliamentary output.
The Rochdale Lib Dem accounts that have been lodged – a patchy history like many units from all parties – state proudly in them that the Group/local Party was no longer having to chip in for one and a half political workers as Paul Rowen’s parliamentary allowances were now covering them.
There has apparently been no fundraising that needs notifying since Paul Rowen’s election. Apart from some strange rent recycling.
Showing a very curious level of inflation and recycling of office rents seemingly to the the financial benefit of the local party.
Not to mention these portcullis/libby hybrids of John Leech’s or his tardis like four colour printing press accommodation.
It really is about time someone at LDV condemned the toxic carrying on of Sir Cyril Smith and others in what appears to be one of the most toxic political operations in any party in the country.
He writes the Westminster Diary for the local paper:
http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/articles/3/3654
not that that matters in this case!
Reading East MP Rob Wilson also writes a Westminster Diary for the paper and reproduces it on his website:
http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/articles/3/3564
http://www.robwilsonmp.com/record.jsp?type=blogPost&ID=49
Who pays for his website?
It says “Funded from Parliamentary allowances;” at the bottom