Monday 12 October: This was the first day back from the summer recess and when MP’s were to receive letters from Sir Thomas Legg informing them of his preliminary findings on the management of their ACA accounts from 2004-2008. MP’s were told that Sir Thomas’s letters would be available from 9.a.m. but they didn’t begin to appear until 5.p.m. The stiff upper lips were holding up into the early afternoon but some began to quiver when news reached the tearooms that the Prime Minister, David Cameron and Nick Clegg had got their letters and were to payback over-payments. 

Controversy 

The controversy from Legg’s preliminary report, particularly his retrospective proposals, may have been predictable but the reality is that Sir Thomas’s Review was a necessary event to bring an end to the MP’s expenses debacle. Sir Christopher Kelly’s Independent Review of a new system of allowances when it reports to Parliament in November will also hopefully help restore some semblance of confidence in politics.

 Embarrassed

MP’s have been rightly embarrassed by the structural and administrative failures of the rules governing their allowances and they now have to prove to an angry and sceptical public that “they get it”. Following Legg, the House authorities (Fees Office) have some questions to answer, e.g. what caused audit procedures to be flawed?; and why were there so many inconsistencies on implementing the rules? The rules were significantly changed and improved by Parliament before the summer recess and I am sure these changes will be reconfirmed and  improved upon by Sir Christopher Kelly when he reports in November.

 End