Research published today by Reading West MP Martin Salter has exposed the hypocrisy and hollowness in David Cameron’s response to the announcement by Gordon Brown to clean up the system of MPs’ Parliamentary Allowances.

David Cameron claimed that he would be “pushing for further reforms including the abolition of the Communications Allowance” yet an examination of the MPs’ allowances for 2007/08 shows that Cameron himself claimed £2,200 and his Shadow Cabinet claimed a total of £186,000 between them for a Communications Allowance that they themselves purport to oppose. Only 20 out of 196 Conservative MPs stuck to their principles and refused to claim an allowance whose introduction they voted against.

Mr Salter said:-

“If we are to really clean up British politics then we need our political leaders to work together. I find it disappointing that David Cameron is not only being inconsistent and hypocritical over allowances that he and his Shadow Cabinet have been happy to claim, but also grudging and unclear in his reaction to Gordon Brown’s sensible proposals to reform the current discredited system of funding the work of MPs. The Tories need to come off the fence over the obvious conflict of interest with nearly 60% of their MPs taking fat fees in directorships or earning thousands of pounds in second incomes while still drawing a £63,000 salary from the taxpayer.” 

Mr Brown and Commons Leader Harriet Harman announced today the replacement of the controversial MPs’ second homes allowance with a flat rate daily allowance to cover the cost of overnight accommodation based on actual attendance in Parliament. They also proposed that MPs would no longer be able to directly employ their own staff who, in future, would be employees of the House of Commons, and that the rules would be tightened on the employment of spouses of other relatives.

In addition they have asked the Committee on Standards in Public Life to rule on MPs’ who take second jobs in addition to their Parliamentary salaries. These reforms have been welcomed by Martin Salter and other Labour MPs who sponsored a Private Member’s Bill back in 2007 to ban MPs from taking outside earnings or directorships.