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Yes indeed Zen. Most people use their salary to buy food.
There are a bunch of other odd claims. Some are just silly and make the parties look bad (like the moat cleaning bill, or the maintenance of heated tennis courts). Others are far more sinister and troubling. For example, prominent labour politician claimed nigh on £20k towards mortgage payments on the 2nd home allowance, despite his mortgage having been paid off years before. Others have played the system for large amounts: such as the tory couple who are noth MPs and both claimed second home allowances...but one claimed for the London house and the other for the constituency home. Basically they doubled up their allowances and gained an extra £140k.
On the whole I think the anger is over the top. Mostly our MPs work hard for a fairly modest income, and even with allowances and expenses they still take home considerably less than they would in almost any industry at their level.
But...these are the same people who regularly condemn 'benefit cheats' and at least one of them (labour front bench) has argued for unemployed alcoholics to have their benefits cut if they don't stick to their treatment programme.
With unemployment soaring and eveyrbody worried about the economic climate, being told that w all need to tighten our belts by people who play the system for thousands...is an uncomfortable thing.
The joke however, was the fact that the Conseratives have been desperately trying to show that they're no longer the party of wealth and aristocracy, but rather the party of the people...which project cannot be helped by revelations of Tory Grandees with gardens so big they take 4 hours to mow, heated tennis courts, chandelier replacements, and a MOAT around a country estate.
*chuckles* The fact that the guy was called Hogg is an additional chuckle.
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