If one can say anything about the European elections as far as Britain is concerned, it is that, like it or lump it, they will have very little to do with Europe. They are going to be decided on issues much closer to home and will be a verdict on everything from MPs’ expenses to Gordon Brown and the recession.
Anyone who has been watching the party political broadcasts going out on telly (I recommend Katrina Bishop’s Broadcast Bingo posts for more on those) would be forgiven for forgetting that the elections had anything to do with our union with Europe at all.
And it is therefore no surprise that the more eurosceptic of the bunch are relishing the opportunity to draw comparisons between Westminster’s avarice and the Brussels/Strasbourg gravy train.
The UK Independence Party tells the Financial Times that it is “getting thousands of calls a day and the majority are from Labour people coming to us.” Leader Nigel Farage said. “The [expenses furore] has pushed people towards us who already agreed with us - it’s made it a bit easier for them [to shun the mainstream parties].”
Posters and leaflets produced by the (itself positively piggish) British National Party deride the mainstream parties as pigs with their snouts firmly in the trough.
The party also says it expects a major boost thanks to the expenses furore.
And finally, Libertas is hoping that the gem of a video above will go ‘viral’. It was originally filmed by RTL TV at the request of Hans Peter Martin MEP. It shows MEPs signing in at 7am for their daily allowance of €261 and then making a fast exit - a practice known in Brussels quite simply as “Sign On and Sod off”.
“See the MEPs sign in and register and then take off for the weekend and with a lot of your money. Watch the shocked reactions as some realise their nasty tricks are being filmed.”
And on a European election special of Question Time this week (the BBC’s flagship political programme), there are no prizes for guessing what the very first question was.
“Can MEPs claim back expenses for helipad maintenance and duck houses?”
An emphatic “NO!” from Nigel Farage, the first member of the panel to answer. However, when asked what his expenses were last year, the answer was much more equivocal.
“The average…”
“No, yours, yours?”
“There aren’t expenses. We all get given the same set of allowances.”
“How much did you take in allowances last year?”
“It’s just over £200,000 per annum for each MEP. It’s a huge sum - hang on! Hang on!…”
… he shouted to some very audible gasps from the audience. In the last few weeks of Question Time, it has been open season on politicians. Eric Pickles, the Conservative Party chairman was hideously heckled when he said he needed a second home despite living only a few miles from Westminster - because he needed to get to work on time. And former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett received the same treatment when she explained that she “can understand why the public doesn’t understand” how she felt it acceptable to claim for pot plants and other garden fripperies.
Farage then twisted the conversation around to a general attack on EU membership but did not mention what he actually did with his 200 grand. This might be a good moment to add that in its latest email, UKIP has described itself as “a zero-tolerance party on misuse of expenses”.
The audience was clearly gobsmacked by some of what to them were revelations - the massive allowances, the SOSO shenanigans and the fact that MEPs have voted to give themselves a hefty pay rise. The problem for the EU - until it properly gets its house in order - is that when people finaly start taking an interest in it, this is what will inevitably catch their attention.
(6 votes, average: 4.17 out of 5)
Loading ...
Great post Etan! Is it purely a coincidence that the Telegraph ran the MP expenses story just as politicians where beginning to get serious about regulating the financial services sector?
The allowances/expenses system for MEPs is in dire need of reform. The clocking on allowance definitely needs to be thrown out. A strictly enforced receipt-based system is the only solution.
On the pay rise thing though… It’s a pay rise for some MEPs, but it’s a pay cut for others (German and Italian MEPs, for example) - because it’s setting a standard/uniform salary for MEPs. Before (well, currently) it was whatever national MPs got (meaning that eastern MEPs were worse off, which is a bit unfair if they’re doing the same job).
The European Parliament has instituted some reforms to take effect after the European elections, but it has actively suppressed information about notorious abuse in the past and it still far from zealous in informing the public and in eradicating loopholes.
But the European Parliament does a decent job as a co-legislator, within the limits the member states have set, and as an initiator of European level debates, where it lacks powers but still is the best forum from the viewpoint of the EU’s citizens.
Every EU citizen should try to find a constructive candidate or party to vote for.
Thanks for the comments guys.
Frank, I’ve got a feeling that it is just a coincidence!