Forum Topic

Seems we are paying for Alan Keens ironing as well

Alan Keen claimed £20 for having ten of his shirts ironed,you really could not make it up could you?

Paul Fisher ● 6181d42 Comments

Terrible Robin.  Especially after my rejection was so emphatically confirmed at the local elections a year later.

Phil Andrews ● 6178d

You're right, Vanessa.I've noticed how Phil keeps calling you bitter. On occasion, he's actually been quite vitriolic about it.One wonders if bitterness is part of the reason for his vendetta against Ann. After all, she did absolutely wipe the floor with him (even in his own ward) at the 2005 general election.That must have been a really difficult pill to swallow. Imagine being the self-appointed leader of the "organised community" and then suddenly finding that that same community has turned its back on you. How on earth did that make Phil feel?

Robin Taylor ● 6178d

"... 'Asian' doesn't come into it ..."So why mention it, Jim? And while we're about it, exactly what made you donate money to the ICG?

Robin Taylor ● 6178d

""No doubt you're delighted she was a non-Asian mayor""I was delighted to observe that Dr Genevieve Hibbs was a respectable,honest,caring and honourable person...who added distinction to the position of Mayor of Hounslow...having been selected presumably by the Conservative administration. Her nationality made no difference. She is a fine human being. "Asian" doesn't come into it....anyway I don't really like that word..if someone is Indian let them be proud to be described as so.Sadly your Labour Party crowd appointed two Indian howlers as Mayor in their final two years. 1) The  fibber wanting to open a Pole Dancing Club2) The non smiling smartly dressed chap..who was not appropriately qualified to do the job..and who made a hash at the unvieling of the V2 War Memorial in Chiswick. He was a poor Chairman of the Borough Council meetings too..often offending Councillors as he couldn't understand what they were saying.Type "Pole Dancing Club" or "Non Smiling Mayor" in the Forum Search Box.I've lived in the Borough for enough years to deserve some top performances by those appointed to high office in the Council. Labour failed to come up with the goods at the time I became interested in what was going on!I was SCOUTING too at that time..and was saying to myself..."what the hell is going on at the Civic Centre"..and only a little has been revealed.

Jim Lawes ● 6179d

You imagine that if you keep saying it long enough it will make it true, seems you can dish it out but don't take to criticism directed at you. It's not bitterness it's anger at someone taking the p***, bit like you feel about the Keens really.

Vanessa Smith ● 6179d

Sat-navs?Buy a streetmap, take the bus or tube or train like the rest of us TAXPAYERS, what kind of simpleton needs 2 sat-navs to travel either to/from Westminster (hint! the Brentford overground goes to Waterloo-big station over the river from the house of commons)or around the borough.Get a real job where you have to deliver and try this sort of scam again

Niel Gavin ● 6179d

Steve,I don't know the details but my contacts inform me that she has been trying to put pressure on Thames Water for a long time. In fact, it will be a perennial problem for any MP for the area.As you know, she brought the environment minister to see the plant and to meet with yourself and Simon Eaton-Walker a few years ago. You may only have been living in the area for around ten years but the Labour Party has been fighting on the issue for literally decades.In your criticisms of Ann Keen, you have failed to explain why you believe that either of the alternatives will be more successful on this issue.You have already indicated that you intend voting for Andrew Dakers. That's your right. But an acquaintance of mine who lives within sniffing distance of Mogden is perplexed by his stance on the issue. Is it really true that as a member of the SDC he voted FOR expansion (and yet, shortly afterwards, voted on the Isleworth & Brentford Area Committee in favour of a motion "regretting" the SDC's decision to approve the expension?).Regarding the Tories, how do you feel about the fact that Thames Water donated £50,000 to them just before the 1992 General Election? (I'm not sure whether any more recent donations have been made but am investigating this). If Mary Mac£eod's party continue to receive financial backing from the owners of the Mogden plant, it's not likely to give her a lot of incentive to make Thames Water take heed of residents' wishes.After all, what's the old saying ...?"He who pays the piper calls the tune."

Robin Taylor ● 6179d

Jim,No doubt you're delighted she was a non-Asian mayor.I remember on one of your posts you were bitching about a "non-smiling Punjabi Mayor who was really quite an awful chairman" before going on to complain about another 'Asian Mayor'.

Robin Taylor ● 6179d

...I'm not bitter!

Phil Andrews ● 6179d

FYI - I have never defended the Keens regarding the expenses debacle, neither am I whingeing, and I do know something about politics. I happen to think the whole shower are a bloody disgrace. It is the repetitive constant nit-picking, tiny-mindedness, every little thing and off you all go again. As someone whose husband was made redundant by the Tory/ICG council I don't need lectures from you about people looking for jobs. At least these people are actually looking for jobs instead of expecting the council tax payers to subsidise their lifestyles and their children's school fees.

Vanessa Smith ● 6180d

I just noticed this one and remembered the story Jim related from outside the polling station where Tony Louki suggested he was new to the area.  :-)http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/index/council_and_democracy/democracy_and_elections/elections_results/local_elections/election_results06/osterley_spring_grove_election_result_2006.htm

Sarah Felstead ● 6180d

http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/index/council_and_democracy/democracy_and_elections/elections_results/local_elections/election_results06/isleworth_election_result_2006.htm

Sarah Felstead ● 6180d

"How do you know, Simon? You don't know what Ann is trying to do about Mogden behind the scenes."Robin is quite right. Nobody knows what Ann is trying to do behind the scenes. Suffice to say that whatever it is - its failed!! However, perhaps Robin, as the only spokesperson for Ann contributing to this forum, could enlighten us??

Steve Taylor ● 6180d

I would Like to Say Cllr Hibbs has worked Harder for Isleworth than any other Councilors in any other Boroughs thats why at the last Elections she got more Votes than anyone standing in Isleworth as we all who live here Know and Appreciate what she has and is Doing.

Simon Anderson ● 6180d

Great picture of Mayor Dr Genevieve Hibbs.. Sarah. And what a splendid and thoughtful lady...promoted through the ranks of the ICG to the top job in the Borough Chamber. Robin Taylor eat your hat on this one!

Jim Lawes ● 6180d

Paul Fisher wrote: "..I see your Comrades Hughes and Filson have even deserted the Good Ship Keen so fair play to you for still attempting to bale them out as their careers sink rapidly"I have never defended the Keens expenses claims, so have been totally consistent there.

Dan Filson ● 6180d

iN ALL THE MEETING I ATTENDED OVER THE YEARS AT THE MOGDEN RESIDENT MEETINGS I SAW MANY COUNCILLORS THERE, LOTS OF MEMBERS OF MRAG BUT I NEVER SAW ANN AT ONE...STRANE WHEN U SAY SHE WAS HELPING US WHEN SHE DOESNT SHOW UP TO SUPPORT US AT THESE MEETINGS

Simon Anderson ● 6180d

Phil, So the Labour Party has to agree with Steve's anti-Labour out-pourings - or it gets accused of holding residents in contempt? Nice one.And who are these residents, exactly? The ones who overwhelmingly voted for Ann Keen as their MP in 2005.I'm reliably informed that she out-polled you by a three to one margin in your own ward.

Robin Taylor ● 6180d

How do you know, Simon? You don't know what Ann is trying to do about Mogden behind the scenes.But clearly there's a limit to how much she can liaise with MRAG when its own secretary is bad-mouthing her and promoting a petition against her.

Robin Taylor ● 6180d

RobinAt Least MRAG care about us Residents more than Ann Ever Did

Simon Anderson ● 6180d

Genvieve is a Legend and a Wonderful Lady

Simon Anderson ● 6180d

And I thought I was supposed to be the one who is always playing the victim?Confucius say "Person who picks fight they don't win loses power, job and meal ticket".

Phil Andrews ● 6180d

Once again the residents living in the vicinity of Mogden are reminded of the contempt in which they are are held by a certain political party.

Phil Andrews ● 6180d

Vanessa, politics, by definition, has always been a rough business. If the Keens put themselves forward to represent their voters, and do it in such a cheesy way, they (or you) shouldn't winge if the voters get cross and throw verbal bricks at them. It's called: democracy. That's what they're paid for. I remember the poignant words of a mid-20s man, qualified in IT, in Hounslow High Street, who said: "I've been unemployed for 18 months and have been doing my best to get a job, but get knocked back every time. I'm trying to get by on sixty-seven quid a week dole. It's not right that these people are claiming so much, is it?" So you're "heartily sick and tired?" Not half as much as him or others who expressed their views rather more colourfully.

Stuart Parrott ● 6180d

Vanessa, politics, by definition, has always been a rough business. If the Keens put themselves forward to represent their voters, and do it in such a cheesy way, they (or you) shouldn't winge if the voters get cross and throw verbal bricks at them. It's called: democracy. That's what they're paid for. I remember the poignant words of a mid-20s man, qualified in IT, in Hounslow High Street, who said: "I've been unemployed for 18 months and have been doing my best to get a job, but get knocked back every time. I'm trying to get by on sixty-seven quid a week dole. It's not right that these people are claiming so much, is it?" So you're "heartily sick and tired?" Not half as much as him or others who expressed their views rather more colourfully.

Stuart Parrott ● 6180d

Vanessa,They're doing to Ann what they did to you.Do you remember Phil once comparing you (unfavourably) to Harold Shipman?It's the type of swiftboat politics that destroyed John Kerry. This time, though, the beneficiaries are Mary Macleod and Andrew Dakers. Do you notice how they compete with one another to be the ICG's pet poodle - and how they're both very careful not to fall out of favour with Phil?

Robin Taylor ● 6180d

Steve,All I said was that MRAG is independent and politically unbiased. What's wrong with that?

Robin Taylor ● 6180d

Cheap shot, totally untrue and demonstrates gross ignorance, beneath contempt. Just how low can local labour stoop?

Steve Taylor ● 6180d

... ah yes, the voice of the independent, politically-unbiased MRAG.

Robin Taylor ● 6180d

It would seem that people don't want to wait for the Ballot Box option. They seem to want the Keen's hounded out of town now. Oops sorry - they haven't been in town for almost a year have they? The petition can be found at: http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?Sa260173And the scandal made the front page of several major newspapers today too.

Steve Taylor ● 6180d

I may have this wrong but if the Keens resign or are deselected (like thats going to happen) they get nothing. But if they hang on till the election and are voted out they get a golden handshake and more money in the pension pot. So another 12 months of troughing.

Craig Quilliam ● 6180d

Sorry Vanessa but the people who constitute her ward are her constituents.  Collectively, therefore, they are her constituency.

Phil Andrews ● 6180d

It is NOT her constituency - she represents a ward.

Vanessa Smith ● 6180d

I am heartily sick and tired of the myriad threads concerning the two M.Ps, and I doubt I'm the only one. It has all the feel of a gang of playground bullies delighting in the downfall of their victim. I hold no brief for either of the Keens, but this is just spiteful and malicious, I understand the fury that people feel and I agree that the Keens have done themselves no favours, but revenge - if that is the goal - will be exacted at the ballot box. As the election is almost a year away, this is going to be mighty tedious, so if people want to keep a watching brief in the meantime may I suggest just one thread to vent spleens?

Vanessa Smith ● 6180d

And a grand job Councillor Genevieve Hibbs did as Mayor of Hounslow.  At the Osterley Park tea party held in honour of our 'Land Army Girls', she telephoned one lady who had been unable to come because of ill health, and chatted to her for several minutes.

Sarah Felstead ● 6181d

In the year prior to her being Mayor she also had one of the best attendance records at council meetings, better I believe than ANY of New Labour's 24 councillors.Anyone seen their MP lately?

Phil Andrews ● 6181d

LOLIt should be pointed out though Robin as you are well aware that my ICG colleague visits her constituency almost daily, attends three public surgeries a month, does not claim for a second property, her ironing, a new lap-top every year, private medical care,cleaners,duplicate Council Tax, four shredders in one year and unexplained office expenses, nor a son as a paid staff member, and if unsure where a certain rd was would either ask the constituent or check the A-Z rather then claiming hundreds of pounds for two sat navs. I see your Comrades Hughes and Filson have even deserted the Good Ship Keen so fair play to you for still attempting to bale them out as their careers sink rapidly.

Paul Fisher ● 6181d

"... considering he (Alan Keen) lives nowhere near his constituency these days".That's a bit rich, Paul. Doesn't one of your ICG ward colleagues live out in Hayes?

Robin Taylor ● 6181d

WHERE ARE YOU WHEN YOU ARE NEEDED ROBIN, Making tea for the K££NS no doubt, or maybe ironing Als shirts?

Tony Stavides ● 6181d

You can buy a decent A-Z book for about £10. You can use google maps for free. It would be interesting to know exactly how many home visits these (plural as two sat nav systems were purchased) members of staff have made.

Andrew Sibley ● 6181d

Will Robin confirm that the staff member is in fact Alan Keens son David?It is quite unbelievable that they claim not to know the Feltham area Alan Keen represnts and need two Sat Navs to find there way about then again perhaps its not considering he lives nowhere near his constituency these days.

Paul Fisher ● 6181d

From today's Hounslow Guardian (by Paul Teed):Alan Keen MP claimed £580 on expenses for two sat-nav systems, we can reveal.The Feltham and Heston MP, whose Brentford home is less than 10 miles from Westminster, charged taxpayers £399 and £179 for the Tom Toms, in the space of six months, signing to say the bill was “incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily” in the performance of his duties.But Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the gadgets were not essential for Mr Keen to do his job and were a waste of public money.He said: “An MP who lives only a few miles from Parliament has no possible need for a sat-nav, and even if he lived in the middle of nowhere it should be down to him to find his way around.”But Mr Keen said: “I have one member of staff who works in the constituency almost all of the time, meeting with, arranging and organising meetings with constituents and dealing with casework from the Feltham office. The sat-navs are so helpful for finding addresses when we make home visits.”As MPs’ expenses were officially published for the first time last week, they also showed that Mr Keen made regular monthly claims of £250 for his office at home, but crucial details of what he spent it on were not revealed.Mr Keen said the money covered “a variety of costs agreed with the Fees Office”.He said: “In normal circumstances, I used to spend a great deal of my time on Fridays, weekends and Mondays working from home where I have a permanent office.“For the last 15 months or so I have rented office space in Feltham.”His other submitted reciepts included shopping lists with items such as 55p for ring doughnuts, £1.19 for crisps, and a £2.05 fajita at the Houses of Parliament.He and his wife Ann Keen, MP for Brentford and Isleworth, also regularly put in claims for their £55 weekly cleaning and ironing bill.Mr Elliott added: “Many of these claims are clearly not essential to doing the job of being an MP and frankly stink of taking advantage of taxpayers’ money.“This couple have lost touch with the real world on a huge scale.” (endit)

Stuart Parrott ● 6181d