all aboard the gravy train. again.
The MPs are at it again and what exactly does that tell us? It shows me that they really don’t understand the morality of the expenses’ issue and are only aware, dimly if at all, of the proposed legality of it. They don’t get that the previous rules were corrupt and despised by one and all, not including themselves of course. But my issue is not just the bending and/or breaking of rules, of equal concern is the Westminster-centric nature of our political system and positively encourages the dishonest behaviour of the like of culture secretary, Maria Miller.
Born in the Midlands and educated in Wales, Miller now represents the people of Basingstoke. Basingstoke, Hampshire. Basingstoke, 25 miles-ish south west of London. Basingstoke, junction 6 on the M3. Basingstoke, 50 minutes train journey from London Waterloo. Basingstoke, supposedly Miller’s FIRST home. But this FIRST home, this REAL home was not were Maria and her family, and her parents, actually lived. Instead, upon being selected to represent the constituency of Basingstoke, the first thing the honourable lady did was buy another home, her SECOND home in Wimbledon, and it is to this home that the whole extended family decamped. A second home, stuffed with dependents, to save herself 15 minutes travel each way, on the couple of days a week (month?) she needed to be there, and save herself the grand total of 30 minutes’ travel time. Laughable, of course. Criminal, most probably. Funny, not very. Immoral, certainly.
Why was it so necessary that, for her new job in sunny Hampshire, a safe & loyal true-blue tory heartland, she had to uproot her family and relocate them to London town, in her new SECOND home? It wasn’t of course. Or was it? It certainly wasn’t necessary to understand, appreciate, experience and represent the interests and concerns of her constituents. But it was oh-so necessary for her to continue to develop her London-based and London centric political career. Where would a political fast-tracker be without a clear path to parliament, to the back-benches, to the cabinet, to a peerage and the House of Lords, and of course, to a fantastically privileged pay and pension structure? It’s blatantly clear that that all career politicians, whose SECOND homes were in London, truly viewed these as their base and the actual constituency location was purely a means to their end. Those with political ambitions go to London where the streets are paved with both taxpayers’ gold and paymasters’ patronage. Whilst Miller’s financial lies and hypocrisy are bad enough, what’s even worse is her cynical hypocrisy in representing people entirely in the interests of her own career. The sooner the good people of Basingstoke vote her out the better.
As an aside and apropos to nothing in particular, Maria then made a reported £1,200,000 on the sale of her taxpayer-funded SECOND home. Well, who’d have thunked it!
