The MPs' expenses regime is stupid

If David Laws were to try and book a room for the next three nights at a Premier Inn close to Westminster the cheapest to be found would be at Kensington Olympia. It would cost him £336.

Multiply that by a House of Commons working year of, say 35 weeks, and the cost would be £11,760.

It is reported that David Laws claimed £40,000 over nine years for accommodation, paying the money to his landlord/friend rather than to a commercial concern. This seems to me like a good financial deal for the taxpayer; it's certainly a very great deal less than many MPs have claimed for mortgage interest payments.

How did the Commons ever get itself into the position when it has to examine the status of private relationships before determining whether accommodation expenses can be paidt? Why should David Laws have publicly to try and define his relationship with his 'partner'?

The European Parliament system is entirely different. MEPs are not paid expenses but a daily allowance intended to cover accommodation and subsistence costs. They can pass it all on to swell the profits of Mr Hilton or Messrs Holiday Inn, or they can sleep on the park bench and pocket the lot.

The amount (€298) can certainly be criticised as excessive, but at least the arrangement doesn't require moralistic scrutiny by officials paid more than the elected representatives.

As Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws had the task of proposing cuts in public expenditure. His authority was bound to be undermined by claims that he had not followed the rules to the letter.

But the rules are stupid. The House of Commons should never have adopted them.

Each MP is the elected representative for a constituency of 80,000 people or more. Their current salary is £64,766,

Of course it can be argued that MPs should only be paid the average wage. Or that they should be paid less than this. Or that they should not be paid at all and should be self-funded millionaires. But I think most people will believe that the representative for their constituency should be paid at something close to the rate of the local GP or senior school headteacher - which is a lot more than they get at present - plus a set allowance for living away from home (if they do) for so many days each week..

There should be complete openness and transparency, both about the amount available and the amounts actually claimed, but we should stop micro-managing the way in which MPs use the money paid to them to fulfill the role for which they were elected.