public speaker - Clean Up This Messy System - Glasgow Daily Record

THE public are becoming increasingly concerned and angry at apparent abuse by MPs of their expenses and allowances. The revelation that former Tory MP Derek Conway had paid his sons, from the public purse, for "phantom jobs" while they were at university provoked an angry backlash from the public. Speaker Michael Martin set up a committee of MPs to review their expenses and allowances. But such a review is too important for the protection of the public, the protection of decent hard-working MPs and for the future of our democratic system to be left to MPs alone. That is why the Speaker should now call a halt to his inquiry and call in an independent body such as the Committee for Standards in Public life to take its place. Only a fully transparent independent review of the rules and allowances can restore the vital public trust in our democracy and our politicians. read more

Tags: allowances, rules, mps, public speaker, public, review