Forum Topic

Alan Keen treats us like cretins, again

Alan Keen, MP for Feltham and Heston, justified the almost £40,000 a year he and his wife, Ann, MP, claimed in second homes allowances, by saying (as reported by the Hounslow Chronicle): "The House of Commons authorities and the fees office are extremely strict with the rules and the public can have their minds set at that.”Extremely strict?Sir Christopher Kelly, the chairman of the committee on standards in public life, admits in the Daily Telegraph today that the policing of MPs' expenses had been "pretty poor."Extremely strict or pretty poor? I know who I'd prefer to believe. Pull the other one, Alan!

Stuart Parrott ● 6191d18 Comments

"Ann Keen is a parody of virtue"Robin Taylor,  June 2009

Colin Murphy ● 6189d

TAYLOR, Robin (Political Career) died 17th June, 2009 after a long illness. His funeral service will be held as soon as expedient, but no later than 3rd June, 2010.He is survived by his comrade, Dan Filson, who requests that instead of flowers, donations should be made to the Pa Broon home for parliamentary sanity.

Colin Murphy ● 6189d

Colin.I think you meant to say "Ann Keen is a PARAGON of virtue."In which case I agree and will now dutifully move your name three slots to the left on my "political spectrum".

Robin Taylor ● 6189d

...serving a parody of a once great political party.I think many of us feel we've indulged Robin and his nonsense over here quite enough here now.  I can't think of a more fitting epitaph that those seven words of his.

Phil Andrews ● 6189d

"Ann Keen is a parody of virtue"Robin Taylor,  June 2009

Colin Murphy ● 6189d

"It is clear ... that many constituents have little concept of what an MP does or where his attention should be focused,"Ah, it's his constituents' fault.  Now where else have I heard that recently?

Phil Andrews ● 6189d

I see that the Tory MP for Esher and Walton has decided to stand down at the next election.from the Telegraph:....Mr Taylor said there were "several factors" behind his decision.Mr Taylor became embroiled in the expenses controversy when The Telegraph disclosed that he had designated a second home in London even though his main home is in the capital's commuter belt.In his resignation letter, the MP defended his decision not to live in Esher and Walton."It is clear ... that many constituents have little concept of what an MP does or where his attention should be focused," he wrote."There has been some criticism of me recently for my failure to 'commute' rather than on the substance of whether I hold views and or take actions on key matters on behalf of constituents."This debases the whole system. It implies that an MP should seek to be around locally more than around Westminster."That is not the correct balance and it is not one I wish to endorse."The MP insisted that he commutes "most weeks", spending Friday, Saturday and Sunday "in and around the constituency".

Tim Henderson ● 6189d

"Now that I have dared to criticise the ICG on the TW8 forum, I had better go and don my tin hat."No need to Robin - all of our missiles are short-range, they don't reach beyond the boundaries of the borough.Fortunately they don't need to, because although the attacks rain in from such exotic climes as Southall and Hammersmith none of us is under any illusions as to their true point of origin.

Phil Andrews ● 6190d

Sarah.Thanks for your balanced contribution. Among the usual litany of moans from the usual suspects, your posting alone deserves a response.You are right that when MPs employ family members it must not be for fabricated jobs. Unfortunately, in the case of Tory MP Derek Conway, his son got paid for doing absolutely nothing - and other MPs got tarnished with the same brush. (It is a sad irony that Tory apologist David Giles once commended Conway on a thread on the W4 forum as being an example of an MP with an outstanding record).You are also correct about how appalling the practice of flipping homes is. The Keens have not done this. George Osborne has.My understanding is that family members will indeed be employed through a central source (as will all other employees of members of parliament) ... or did that motion fall? Certainly the Keens voted for root and branch reform.By the way, no one is suggesting that Ann is a saint - but when you look at the facts you realise that she is no further than half way up the list of alleged offenders. One of the reasons she is targetted by the ICG pack on this and other threads is because she protested about Phil's appointment to the council's executive and questioned whether his far right past made it appropriate.Now that I have dared to criticise the ICG on the TW8 forum, I had better go and don my tin hat.

Robin Taylor ● 6190d

Oh dear Sarah.  Now prepare to be inserted into your allotted space on Robin's "political spectrum".

Phil Andrews ● 6190d

We all like to look for the good and be positive about things so as much as it is appreciated that you wish to defend our MPs by giving explanations on their behalf, Robin, it really is up to them to answer the questions.I absolutely do not have a problem with family members being employed by MP's, the nature of the job (it appears) calls for family involvement so they are very well placed to support the MP.The difficulty with all this is that some people have fabricated jobs in the same way they have flipped houses without batting an eyelid, and this now creates a problem for the other hard working families supporting their MP.  Maybe these family members should be regulated by being employed through a central source, and training offered through the same employer to support MPs properly.I think Rt. Hon. Ann Widdecombe MP would be brilliant as Speaker.

Sarah Felstead ● 6190d

I'm remain mystified as to how Alan Keen can acquire a second home on the taxpayer on the grounds that the nine mile train ride back to his "home" in Brentford presents an insurmountable obstacle to him doing his job, and then claim "travel expenses".Travel to where?  From Waterloo to Westminster?

Phil Andrews ● 6190d

Robin,Travelling to different parts of the country is part of her job and she is entitled to claim travel expenses. Getting to work is part of everyone's job but not everyone is entitled to claim for such an expense. It doesn't matter whether or not she claimed for it, the fact that she can, and millions of people can't, is what matters.With regards to HOC notepaper, I am farmiliar with the term delegation. You can delegate a task but you can't delegate responsibility. Ann K££n is responsible for ensuring that such rules aren't broken and on this occasion she failed. Apologising, paying the money back and blaming a member of staff is not good enough.

Andrew Sibley ● 6190d

RobinIs it true or just a rumour that Alan Keen employs his son David as a reseacher for him and if so is it just a coincidence that he claims one of the highest amounts for employee costs in the Commons?Also can you please confirm what colour shoes Cllr Phil Andrews wore on say June 16th 2005 as your scrapbook must surely have this information?

Paul Fisher ● 6190d

Andrew.I think you might find that some of the £15k in travel expenses that Ann has not claimed for is related to travelling up country and elsewhere on ministerial and other duties (rather than the cost of commuting to and from work).Either way, she was entitled to claim it back - and failed to do so.I suspect that the mistake with the coffee morning invitations going out on HOC notepaper was probably made by one of her staff. People do not understand that most of an MP's expenses go on employing staff who act, primarily, under their direction (although clearly not to the extent of directing them to use one particular type of paper).It is interesting that despite the flak Ann has received in the local press over that projected coffee morning, no one has picked up on the fact that it proves that she does indeed engage with her constituents (contrary to the claims of some). The woman who complained to the press about her invitation was clearly not sent one on the basis of any supposed Labour allegiance.

Robin Taylor ● 6190d

"You might be interested to know that Ann has accrued about £15,000 in travel expenses since she was elected in 1997. Despite being perfectly entitled to claim this back she has simply never got round to it - and now it's too late."Robin, this is equal to an average of £1250 per year. The average cost of an annual travel card in London is £1572. I doubt that many people who have to use public transport to get to work are able to claim their travel expenses from their employers. I don't think Ann K££n's lethargy over her travel expenses will be of much consolation to the millions of people that have to pay inflation busting prices to get to and from work.Still, at least her laid back approach to her expenses is not just confined to travel costs. If she paid a bit more attention to detail she may not have missed the fact that £4k worth of Commons stationery was being used for invitations to her coffee mornings.

Andrew Sibley ● 6190d

Stuart.I think Alan is right, actually. You may not agree with the rules (and both Keens have voted to change them) but the fees office are pretty strict in applying the letter of those rules.I believe that once Ann and Alan accidentally double claimed on something. The fees office pointed this out to them and Alan apologised. These sorts of problems arise when people lead hectic lives.You might be interested to know that Ann has accrued about £15,000 in travel expenses since she was elected in 1997. Despite being perfectly entitled to claim this back she has simply never got round to it - and now it's too late.If you look up Ann's record on www.TheyWorkForYou.com you will see that she has only claimed for a total of £1,160 travel costs during that period.Incidentally, Stuart, I appreciate you e-mailing me with an apology over the issue of Diane Abbott. As I stated on another thread, it is not fair to compare Diane's £0 claim under the ACA with Ann's claim under this because Diane does not qualify for that particular allowance (hers being an inner London constituency).I am glad that you believe in accuracy and hope you do not mind that I have taken the opportunity to clarify this matter here for others to see. If we are going to criticise our elected representatives it is important that we do so only when in possession of the full facts.

Robin Taylor ● 6190d

Robin: Is Alan Keen, MP for Feltham and Heston, right to say that the House of Commons fees' office is extremely strict? Or should we listen to Sir Christopher Kelly, chairman of the committee on standards in public life, who says that the policing of MPs expenses was actually "very poor?" If Sir Christopher is right, as of course he is, why should Alan Keen tell his constituents such nonsense?

Stuart Parrott ● 6190d