Quote Originally Posted by Burney View Post
Well there are some differences, of course. a/ the figures for our MPs were tiny in comparison b/ they were forced into the open relatively easily c/ some MPs were actually prosecuted as a result and d/ the taxpayer actually had redress against the worst MPs in the form of being able to vote them out if they so chose.
Different in a number of other ways as well, namely a) It had been going on for decades and was openly unaddressed b) it wasn’t fiddling but blatantly flouting agreed rules c) pretty much everyone was doing it, despite what the revelations may have said and d) despite court cases, elections and various other measures of accountability it is STILL going on and will continue to do so.

Trust me, you do not even know the half of it. Of course, for your average backbench MP it is pretty much essential. The salary is seen as your basic wage and the expenses your ‘on target earnings’. They don’t get paid a hefty wage, they are forced to maintain two homes, they struggle to access many common financial products because by definition they don’t have a guaranteed long term salary and, as they do so little work, they have a lot of free time with a lot of people offering them money. There is need and temptation.

Still….. fraud is fraud.