From the Oxford Mail:
A ROYAL Marine seriously wounded in Iraq collared Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg in Oxford today to applaud him for pledging action to clean up Parliament…
Mr Johnstone, of Salter Close, Grandpont, told Mr Clegg: “This is the first time I’m going to be voting for you.”
The 46-year-old suffered severe shrapnel wounds to his right leg when a roadside bomb exploded as his unit patrolled close to Basra Airport in August 2003.
He told the Oxford Mail: “What’s impressed me is he’s been on TV and he said he’s asking that every MP across the political divide should not be allowed to go on summer holidays until this expenses row has been sorted out.
“As someone who served his country and has been blown to bits, I find it very hard to take that these people are getting money for their moat or a duck pond and some minion somewhere in an office signs it off for them.”
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16 Comments
Listened to nick clegg on radio 5 this morning.Did nick clegg say when he was a MEP he travelled to the EU by the cheapest way of means but still took the full amount on expenses for travel(£900).Smelling a scandal me thinks.
Yes, but he said he used it for his office in Nottingham “and so on”. And he also said this “abuse” is “thankfully” now going to be stopped. So that’s OK.
Yes he did, Don’t be surprised if this is picked up in a Sunday newspaper story.
That’s part of Cleggs problem. He talks big, admits that he was dishonest but does little/nothing to clean up his party,
Perhaps Huhne should take over as leader
or perhaps there is substantially less to clear up than the other two main parties who clearly had their snouts much further in the trough
Perhaps we should point out the fact that he spent the difference on his office and doing his job as an MEP, despite how stupid the system was, rather than pocketing the difference, as other MEPs have done . . .
grammar cop,’Bullsh*t’,how the hell do we know he used it on his office,besides ,it’s still wrong taking the full travel expenses when he did’nt need it.I say again,me smelling a scandal.
You are making the accusation tykejohnno – prove that he didn’t use the extra on his office?
tykejohnno, has clearly never had a real job in his life. It is not uncommon for a set amount to be pay for T&S.
david,you may be sarcastic,but if the press take this story up,the british people could’nt give a sh*t if they were a set amount.
Here’s me smelling a fool.
You have no idea Tyke.
“Sarcastic”, certainly, but then you invite it on yourself (and actually I’ve not been sarcastic in responding to you). As for “bullying”, it’s particularly stupid to mistake disagreement for bullying. As for “illiberal”, I’ll just say the same I said about bullying. Why come on a website, trying to wind people up and provoke a reaction and then fall out of your pram when people dare to stand up to your nonsense? “Glutton for punishment” springs to mind.
Bring on an investigation into MEPs.
You hope it will make Clegg look bad, but I don’t think that will be the case, and I think the worst abusers will be Lab/Con, as we see with MPs’ expenses.
grammar cop said(you hope it will make clegg look bad,but I don’t think that will be the case),did you listen to clegg on his MEP expenses,the man started to squirm on his travel expenses in particular,that tells me they’s more to this story that meets his illiberal eye.
Darbyshire, dear Tyke, your posts can be difficult to read.
Yes I did listen to what Clegg said, and I still disagree with you.
For what it’s worth, it seems reasonable to me for an MEP to spend his surplus travel allowance on running his office.
But what’s not so clever is to describe something as an “abuse” when you’ve done it yourself. Eighteen months into the job, Clegg still doesn’t seem to have developed the ability to think on his feet when he’s being interviewed.
One of the principled reasons for voting L/D on June 4th is to respect the Peace Comapact of the post WW2 `Founding Fathers’ of Europe.
The salutary Dunkirk and D Day Landings in 1940 and June 6th 1944 were made to free and liberate the free world from the tyranny of the Nazi jackboot marching up Whitehall.
The inherent threat of the denial of liberalism for all Europeans for a millennium was the overriding one in the minds of our liberating troops on D Day.
Nick Clegg has led on the human rights of the Gurkha Regiments, whom have fought side by side, with the British, since 1815 and Gurkas now will be able to settle in the UK, with the proviso of 4 years service.
I share the widespread disappointment that as 73,000 British and Canadian servicemen were the majority invasion force on the Beaches of Normandy and their memory fully deserves our Monarch or her British Royal repersenative in Normandy on June 6th.
I am certain that the heroic Royal Marines would agree and want to see either the Queen our Head of State and Leader of the Commonwealth or her ambassador member of the Royal Family present in Normandy on June 6th. 2009.