It Wasnae Me Guv

According the the Daily Record Linlithgow and Falkirk East MP Michael Connarty is claiming that some of the luxury items that he has claimed for were not for him but for Ian Davidson the Glasgow South West MP with whom he was sharing a flat, which they started sharing in 2006. The articles claims that Michael Connarty was claiming the items the £249.99 'alarm clock' (actually a CD/Radio) and £1099 for a Plasma TV and then gave the cash to Davidson.


Excuse me! Doesn't the rules say the the claims are to be exclusively for personal use? If Michael is making the claims that is for his personal use. To then give the cash in full to another MP who then takes the item when the flat share is over leads to question why didn't Davidson claim that item on his expenses.


He also says he was claiming some furnishings (looks like the ones he sold to Jim Devine) for his personal use to take with when he would eventually leave the shared flat.



Davidson goes on to claim that the flat share with Michael actually saved the Taxpayer considerable amounts of money!! Take a look at Michael's additional cost allowance and rankings over recent years.

In 2006/7 Michael who sold the flat in April, would have spent the whole year in the share with Davidson it would seem. From 2002-2005 you can see his ACA was ranked in the top 3 of MPs for each financial year. The gross saving in 2006/7 was £396 pounds. Is that 'considerably cheaper for the tax payer' In 2007/8 Michael resumed his customary position at the top of the ACA charts.

To be fair lets see if Michael was just claiming everything for the two of them. What was Ian Davidson's savings? Let's look at his expenses.

Looking at that for 2006/7 Ian Davidson made a net saving on ACA of -£495 (minus 495 pound saving) he actually cost more. These two sharing had a 'considerable saving to the taxpayer' of actually £99 more. Wow if that is what happens when you start sharing that you barely notice the savings I may just stay in my flat by myself sorry for anyone who loves me enough to move in.

BTW did you notice that in 2007/8 the two of them claimed equal ACA? Where they still sharing a flat? If so, how come the two of them are the equal top claimants cost more than many MPs who aren't sharing? And just how is this a 'considerable saving to the taxpayer'?

To be honest the defence of Michael over his expenses are getting thinner and thinner. I'm just waiting for the ice to crack.

Update on email watch: I have still to hear anything back from Michael Connarty about the email I sent on 19 May. If any constituents are able to get to his surgeries this weekend listed below and gets an answer regarding his expenses please email me on votestephenglenn hat gmail dot spamblock dot com (replace the hat and dots and remove the spamblock).

Friday 22 May Reddingmuirhead Community Centre 17:00-18:00

Shieldhill Road, Reddingmuirhead, Falkirk, FK2 0DT

Saturday 23 May Grangemouth Constituency Office 10:30-11:30

5 Kerse Road, Grangemouth, FK3 8HQ

If you get an answer to any of the questions raised this week, please let me know. I'll treat the response in confidence.