Tuesday, Dec. 08, 2009
Expensive MPs
Members of the British Parliament are legitimately allowed to recoup some of the expense of living away from home so that they can be near Westminster. But when details of what they were claiming were leaked to London's Daily Telegraph, the outrage hit fever pitch. Among the expensed items: moat-cleaning ($3,000), hedgerow-trimming ($930), toilet-seat fixing ($320), garden improvement ($2,000) and dog food ($5.64). The abuse proved to be widespread and bipartisan; both the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition were forced to apologize, and dozens of politicians resigned or announced they would not seek re-election, including the Speaker of the House.