Short Money

I was out and about yesterday and whilst out I was listening to Mad Hattie standing in for RedEd and Call Me Dave having their weekly charade and panto that is PMQ's.

The usual joke of an event just for public entertainment and quite honestly child like acting from all parties.

Well something got my ear towards the end.
An obviously well planted question from MP Andrew Griffiths.

It was to do with short money.

What is Short money...........well Short money is taxpayer-funded cash given to opposition parties to help them oppose the Government. In the year running up to the general election the Conservatives were given £4.7m and the Lib Dems £1.75m.



Andrew Griffiths MP has written to Ed Miliband calling on him to voluntarily give up part of the Labour Party’s taxpayer-funded grant. While Government departments have had to make necessary reductions in budgets by 19 per cent and ministerial pay has been cut by 5 per cent in order to clean up the mess left by Labour, new research shows that Labour’s bill to the taxpayer has soared to nearly £6 million a year.

Labour’s bill to the taxpayer is up 21 per cent to nearly £6 million. This year Labour will receive £5,748,240 in Short Money, 21 per cent more than the Conservatives received in 2009-10.

Ed Miliband’s office now receives over half a million pounds. This year Ed Miliband’s office will receive £668,606 in Short Money, an increase of 2.3 per cent on what the Leader of the Conservative Party received in 2009-10.

Labour goes on a £1 million recruitment spree. Since the General Election, Labour have advertised for at least 32 new employees, including two economic advisors, with salaries ranging from £23,000 to £37,000.

In his letter, Andrew Griffiths said:
“Just as in Government, Labour in opposition have gone on a spending spree with taxpayers’ money.

“At a time when Government departments and ministers are having to cut costs in order to deal with Labour’s economic legacy, it simply isn’t right for the party responsible to go on accepting more money from the public purse.

“If Labour are serious about clearing up the mess they left behind, they should voluntarily give up the £1 million worth of short money to bring them in line with the restraint shown in public spending.”


Nah...........I doubt it.
Its politics after all.
All parties agreed to the clean up post exp scandal.............and nothing happened there did it........ok a couple of sacrificial lambs in court but basically pay it back say sorry and nothing happened.

Imagine if that could be applied to crimes elsewhere in the UK committed by non MP's.

Excuse me now I am off to throw up!!!!!!!!!