MPs vote on expenses
Thursday, 22 January 2009 5:51 PM
By politics.co.uk staff
MPs have agreed to change the way their expenses are published.
From April 1st their expenses will be published under 26 headings, rather than the current nine, and there will be restrictions on the amount MPs can spend furnishing a second home, capping spending at £2,400 a year.
Under the changes, MPs earning £63,291 will be able to claim a £25 'subsistence' allowance for every night they spend away from their main home on parliamentary business. Reimbursements over £25 must be linked to a receipt - down from £250.
MPs' spouses or civil partners, and dependent children, will be limited to 30 free journeys a year between London and their constituency.
There are also plans to bring the National Audit Office in on certain checks.
On Wednesday, 24 hours before the vote, the government suddenly shelved a motion exempting MPs expenses from freedom of information (FoI) requests, after the Conservatives organised a three-line whip against it and Lib Dems largely opposed the measure.
There has been speculation that the government made the last-minute decision to avoid an embarrassing defeat in the Commons after the Tory's moved to counter the government's own three-line whip, which would have forced Labour MPs to back secret expenses.
"This is a humiliating climbdown for Gordon Brown after he was forced to accept that people will not tolerate MPs continuing to act like members of a secret society," said Nick Clegg, leader of the Lib Dems.
"It is also a victory for everyone who thinks that politicians should be open and accountable to the people who pay their wages."
Labour backbenchers spoken to by politics.co.uk today revealed marked differences in attitude.
One MP said he was "nonplussed" by the furore over transparency issues, while others expressed their frustration with the media's attention on the issue.
"I think it's an attack against democracy," one MP said.
"It's like they're putting us in the stocks. What more do they want? All the measures give greater transparency."
A vote is still needed on proposals on how expenses are published.
The high court ruled last year that details of claims made under the second homes allowance, including receipts, should be published in the interests of transparency.
The Commons authorities spent around £150,000 fighting the ruling that requires all MPs to disclose in full how they spend allowances of around £135,000 a year.
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