Members of Parliament
From Bolton Interweb
The most prominent Bolton MP in recent years has been Ruth Kelly. Ms Kelly unfortunately stood down at the 2010 election. Unfortunate because it denied the voters in her Bolton West constituency the opportunity to express their opinion about her attempt to claim £3,600 for a sofa and chairs, £2,355 for a dining table and chairs, and £2,000 for a flat screen television, all of which were reduced by the fees office. Not to mention a claim £31,000 for flood damage even though she had a building insurance policy. Remember that these expenses are supposed to be wholly and exclusively for MP's parliamentary duties. Kelly was replaced in Bolton West by Julie Hilling, Labour, with a majority of less than 100. Ms Hilling looks promising.
Bolton North West is represented by David Crausby, costing £147,942 in 2007-08, making him one of the more expensive MPs in England. The Telegraph claims that Crausby was allowed to borrow an additional £25,000 on his mortgage to refurbish his kitchen and bathroom last year increasing his mortgage interest claim by £400 a month. I suppose £25k for kitchen and bathroom refurbishment is a bit steep but not in the cringe category. Is he worth it? The voters thought so as Crausby was re-elected in 2010 with only 20 votes sliced off his majority. Go figure.
Bolton South East's MP was Brian Iddon, costing a relatively modest £123,687 in 2007-08 and one of the few not to claim the full second home allowance. Iddon retired at the 2010 election but it seemed to be one of those rare cases of a genuine retirement due to age and not because of some iffy expenses. It is a pity to have lost Dr Iddon. Yasmin Qureshi was elected for Labour in his place in 2010 and has quickly proven herself to be a very poor substitute, having been convicted of driving whilst using a mobile phone and driving without insurance 3 days after her election. An utter disgrace.
Neighbouring Bury North had the disgraced David Chaytor, spending a less than modest £156,209. Chaytor has, of course, been banned from standing again for Labour due to claims for a non-existent mortgage. He is currently facing charges of false accounting under the Theft Act. David Nuttall became the only Conservative MP representing a Bolton or Bury seat in May 2010 but oddly with a smaller majority than Chayton previously commanded.
Bury South's Ivan Lewis had an overall bill of £165,670 in 2008 which, excluding Scottish and Northern Irish MPs who have exceptional travel requirements, puts him in the category of the 20 most expensive MPs. In fact in 2008 Lewis was the 40th most expensive MP in the Commons overall including the Scots and Northern Irish. Despite having been nobbled by No.10 smear artists in the past, admittedly deserved given his need to apologise to a Department of Health aide following inappropriate behaviour, Lewis continued to cling to his modest and undistinguished junior ministerial career. In February 2010 Lewis invited constituents to contribute towards his programme for change. Given he also had to pay back £2449 in overclaims, my contribution is to suggest Bury South changes its MP. Unfortunately the area's voters were a lot more tolerant of his extortionate expense claims and less than model private life, and he was re-elected in 2010 with a much reduced majority. The Labour Party then rewarded him further by electing him to the Shadow Cabinet. I despair.
The best thing about Lewis is that he replaced one of the most appalling Tory MPs in 1997, David Sumberg, who when kicked out by Bury South voters promptly got himself on the Conservative European Parliament North West List (meaning you can't vote him personally out). From 2004 to 2008 Sumberg made only two speeches and gave twelve “explanations of votes” - a total of 536 words. Chris Davies MEP, said Sumberg would undoubtedly make the shortlist for Britain's laziest MEP. Sumberg paid his wife £54,000 per year from the staff allowance and claimed £40,000 per year in office expenses; he used the North West England Conservative Campaigns Centre as a forwarding address to his house in his north London, where he claimed the expenses. Sumberg retired as an MEP in 2009 but no-one noticed.
Another neighbour is Salford and Hazel Blears, responsible for spending a massive £164,791. Blears got herself into a bit of a mess on the expenses front, accused of home flipping although it would appear to have been on the instructions of the Fees Office. Unfairly singled out by Gordon, given far worse offenders in the inner sanctum, Blears campaigned hard for her constituents to undo enough of the damage to survive and was returned in 2010 with more votes but a lower majority, albeit with boundary changes to the constituency. I like Hazel; she speaks her mind which is quite rare so on balance the North West is probably better for her presence. If only she could do it a bit cheaper.
It would be nice to be more politically balanced, but the area is still dominated by Labour MPs. Mr Sumberg is thrown in for good measure, and I could mention his Tory colleague and still a Euro MEP, Robert Atkins - also booted out of the House of Commons by the voters only to worm his way back onto the gravy train via the Conservative Euro List. Overall, with the exception of Dr Iddon, Bolton and it's neighbouring constituencies have been very badly served by its recent parliamentarians. Iddon's replacement with Qureshi, who quickly gained a criminal conviction after election, demonstrates a continuing downward slide. Perhaps democracy isn't all it's cracked up to be.
© Evrose, 2011
