Tuesday 31 March 2009

CLEGG CALLS FOR SUMMIT ON MPs' EXPENSES

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has written to Gordon Brown and David Cameron seeking an urgent meeting to reform the system of MPs’ expenses.

In his letter he calls for the three parties to work together to agree an urgent overhaul of MPs’ expenses as recent scandals make it clear the current system cannot continue any longer.

The upcoming inquiry by the Committee on Standards in Public Life will not report this side of a general election. Nick Clegg said the parties owe it to the citizens of this country to ensure a fair deal for taxpayers before then.

Mr Clegg said recent changes were welcome but further reforms are needed to rebuild public confidence. In the name of transparency, every penny of public money claimed by MPs should only be reimbursed on production of a receipt: taxpayers have the right to know how their money is being spent. Also, the present rules on second homes are incomprehensible to millions of people who have to commute each day: no London MP should be able to claim for a second home.

Clegg told the other leaders that they needed to show political leadership, and act as party leaders to clean up the expenses regime once and for all. This is not a matter for party political point scoring.

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