£400 a month for MPs to feed themselves!
As the MP's expenses saga continues it has been revealed that more than 30 MPs claimed an annual food allowance of £4800 a year even though for a significant part of the period they were not in attendance at Parliament. Many people will be confused as to how MPs were able to claim £400 a month for food, an allowance which was introduced to cover expenses while away from home, when typically the Commons sits were no more than 150 days a year. Is this the next big scandal?
The vast majority of the MPs found to be claiming the maximum food allowance per year came from the Labour Party but there were also a number of Conservative, Liberal Democrat and fringe party MPs. It was also revealed that a number of MPs had actually tried to claim over and above the maximum per year only to have their claims reduced by the expenses committee. Even SNP leader Alex Salmond has been drawn into the argument amid suggestions within Parliament that he claimed food expenses when he was not in London - an allegation that he strongly refutes.
The more information released to the public regarding MPs expenses the more detached they seem to be from the real world and consumers and voters in the UK.
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