Ramblings about politics, secularism and stuff
Thanks to Pete Baker over at Slugger I can feature Mark Devenport’s round-up of the political week from last night’s Hearts and Minds.
Incidentally, Mark references a “Conservative on the airwaves” making reference to Lady Sylvia’s socialist credentials. He was referring to me on yesterday’s Good Morning Ulster.
OK Mark, I admit that perhaps she is more New Labour than Socialist Workers Party – but allow me some poetic licence!
It is a pleasure to embed this video – I do so following an appeal by Tim Montgomerie of ConservativeHome. Well done Tim.
However, I’d ask viewers to interchange ”BNP” with “DUP”. After all DUP spokespeople have made clear that it’s not fond of foreign workers taking local jobs. Moreover, its senior spokespeople – nearly all fundamentalist, creationist, “intelligent design” advocates – aren’t too keen on designated minority groups who don’t share the DUP’s simple “morality”.
In the latest of its revelations the Daily Telegraph has exposed husband and wife team Peter and Iris (“homosexuality viler than child abuse”) Robinson’s food and expense claims.
The Telegraph makes clear that the Robinsons have not broken any rules. However, given the amount of time that the couple actually spends on Commons business one really has to question the value for money that local tax-payers are receiving from this quadruple-jobbing money-making machine.
The couple has claimed nearly £200,000 of mortgage/food expenses related to their London home since 2004. However, in the last year, Peter Robinson has only spoken in six debates. He has only voted in 37% of votes – “well below average for most MPs” according to the site TheyWorkForYou.com It would also appear that only one person has commented on things he has said in his speeches.
But if Peter’s attendance history is bad, Iris rarely shows to speak or to vote in debates. She has only spoken in 4 debates in the last year and has voted in just 28% of divisions.
So while all these expenses are AOK as far as the fees office is concerned one really has to wonder why the Robinsons need to saddle the taxpayer with the costs for all these meals and hundreds of thousands of pounds of mortgage payments on a luxury docklands pad. After all, they rarely turn-up, rarely vote and rarely speak.
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