Expect fireworks when details of MPs’ expenses are made public

Wednesday, January 21: There could be serious embarrassment for MPs after the decision by Gordon Brown to abandon the plan to exempt their expenses from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, as reported earlier today by The Mole.

The Prime Minister has responded to widespread public outrage by scrapping plans to push through a statutory instrument tomorrow that would have allowed MPs to avoid the embarrassment of having to disclose how much they spend on fridges, flat-screen TVs, and washing machines on their second homes at the taxpayers' expense.

However, the Mole understands from House of Commons officials, talking privately this afternoon, that Brown's decision means they will have to go ahead with the release of the information MPs were so keen to keep confidential. If it is not going to be blocked, then taxpayers have the right to see it.

Teams of Commons officials have been working on providing detailed accounts of how much each MP has claimed on expenses and exactly what for and are ready to publish them as soon as they get the go-ahead from the Government.

Stand by for a big explosion when the information is released. "Given the current financial climate, it is going to cause real venom among the public," one official told the Mole gleefully.

FOOTNOTE: Under the Parliamentary second-homes allowance, MPs can claim about £22,000 a year to fund, furnish and maintain a second home. They may nominate which they consider their second home - the one in London or the one in the constituency. Interest payments on mortgages are also repaid and MPs can spend up to £400 a month on shopping without having to produce receipts.

The so-called 'John Lewis list', which caused so much controversy when it was revealed last year, is a guide to the prices MPs can expect to claim on expenses spent on the second home. It allows £10,000 for a new kitchen, more than £6,000 for a bathroom and £750 for a television. One of the reasons why the list was so controversial is that every taxpayer knows you can get a perfectly good TV for a lot less than £750 - ditto a new kitchen for under ten grand.

THE MOLE: MPS’ EXPENSES

FIRST POSTED JANUARY 21, 2009