Piggy Perks for Parasites

To an absent Gordo's "disappointment", his MPs have voted to keep their piggy perks, despite the economic hardships now affecting their constituents. All the following; the "John Lewis list", are acceptable "expenses" for our elected reps:

Air conditioning unit - £299.99
Bed - £1,000.00
Bedside cabinet - £100.00
Bookcase/shelf - £200.00
Bookcase/cabinet - £500.00
Carpet - £35.00 per square metre
Carpet fitting - £6.50 per square metre
Coffee maker/machine - £100.00
Coffee table - £250.00
Dining armchairs (each) - £150.00
Dining chairs (each) - £90.00
Dining table - £600.00
Dishwasher - £375.00
Drawer chest (five) - £500.00
Dressing table - £500.00
Dry cleaning - both personal and household [items] are allowable within reasonable limits
Food mixer - £200.00
Freestanding mirror - £300.00
Fridge/freezer combi - £550.00
Gas cooker - £650.00
Hi-fi/stereo - £750.00
Installation of new bathroom - £6,335.00
Installation of new kitchen - £10,000.00
Lamp table - £200.00
Nest of tables - £200.00
Recordable DVD - £270.00
Rugs (each) - £300.00
Shredder - £50.00
Sideboard - £795.00
Suite of furniture - £2,000.00
Television set - £750.00
Tumble dryer - £250.00
Underlay (basic) - £6.99 per square metre
Wardrobe - £700.00
Washer dryer - £500.00
Washing machine - £350.00
Wooden flooring/carpets - £35.00 per square metre
Workstation - £150.00


[For those constituents claiming Housing or Council Tax Benefit, here is the weekly amount the law says you need to live on: £60.50. "You must also tell us immediately, in writing, of any changes that may affect your benefit."]

Despite expressing the "hope" that his parliamentary party would put aside their own self-interests, the Labour MPs were not whipped. Unlike the Tories who were whipped to vote against this flagrant and systematic abuse of public funds, they had a free vote on the matter. Here is the list of Labour MPs who voted with their snouts:

Nick Ainger (Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South)
Graham Allen (Nottingham North)
David Anderson (Blaydon)
Janet Anderson (Rossendale & Darwen)
Ian Austin (Dudley North)
Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West)
Gordon Banks (Ochil & Perthshire South)
Kevin Barron (Rother Valley)
Margaret Beckett (Derby South)
Clive Betts (Sheffield Attercliffe
Liz Blackman (Erewash)
Roberta Blackman-Woods (Durham, City of)
Bob Blizzard (Waveney)
David Borrow (Ribble South (South Ribble)
Nick Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East & Wallsend)
Richard Burden (Birmingham Northfield)
Colin Burgon (Elmet), Andy Burnham (Leigh)
Stephen Byers (Tyneside North)
Alan Campbell (Tynemouth)
Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley)
Ben Chapman (Wirral South)
David Chaytor (Bury North)
Tom Clarke (Coatbridge
Chryston & Bellshill)
David Clelland (Tyne Bridge)
Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley)
Ann Coffey (Stockport)
Harry Cohen (Leyton & Wanstead)
Michael Connarty (Linlithgow & Falkirk East)
Rosie Cooper (Lancashire West)
Ann Cryer (Keighley)
John Cummings (Easington)
Jim Cunningham (Coventry South)
Tony Cunningham (Workington
Wayne David (Caerphilly)
Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West)
Janet Dean (Burton)
Frank Dobson (Holborn & St Pancras)
Brian Donohoe (Ayrshire Central)
Jim Dowd (Lewisham West)
Angela Eagle (Wallasey)
Maria Eagle (Liverpool Garston)
Jeff Ennis (Barnsley East & Mexborough)
Bill Etherington (Sunderland North)
Caroline Flint (Don Valley)
Paul Flynn (Newport West)
Michael Foster (Worcester)
Michael Jabez Foster (Hastings & Rye)
Mike Gapes (Ilford South)
Dr Ian Gibson (Norwich North)
Linda Gilroy (Plymouth Sutton)
Nia Griffith (Llanelli)
Andrew Gwynne (Denton & Reddish)
Mike Hall (Weaver Vale)
David Hamilton (Midlothian)
Dai Havard (Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney)
Stephen Hesford (Wirral West)
Sharon Hodgson (Gateshead East & Washington West)
Jimmy Hood (Lanark & Hamilton East)
George Howarth (Knowsley North & Sefton East)
Beverley Hughes (Stretford & Urmston)
Joan Humble (Blackpool North & Fleetwood)
Dr Brian Iddon (Bolton South East)
Eric Illsley (Barnsley Central)
Adam Ingram (East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow)
Brian Jenkins (Tamworth)
Diana Johnson (Hull North)
Kevan Jones (Durham North)
Martyn Jones (Clwyd South)
Tessa Jowell (Dulwich & West Norwood)
Eric Joyce (Falkirk)
Alan Keen (Feltham & Heston)
David Kidney (Stafford)
Peter Kilfoyle (Liverpool Walton)
Bob Laxton (Derby North)
Tom Levitt (High Peak)
Ivan Lewis (Bury South)
Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central)
Ian Lucas (Wrexham)
Tommy McAvoy (Rutherglen & Hamilton West)
Stephen McCabe (Birmingham Hall Green)
Christine McCafferty (Calder Valley)
Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East)
Sarah McCarthy-Fry (Portsmouth North)
Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham & Morden)
James McGovern (Dundee West)
Anne McGuire (Stirling)
Shona McIsaac (Cleethorpes
Rosemary McKenna (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East)
Tony McNulty (Harrow East)
Denis MacShane (Rotherham)
Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham Perry Barr
Rob Marris (Wolverhampton South West)
Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South)
Alan Meale (Mansfield)
Gillian Merron (Lincoln)
Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port & Neston)
Madeleine Moon (Bridgend)
Jessica Morden (Newport East)
Elliot Morley (Scunthorpe)
George Mudie (Leeds East)
Denis Murphy (Wansbeck)
Paul Murphy (Torfaen)
Mike O'Brien (Warwickshire North)
Eddie O'Hara (Knowsley South)
Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock)
James Plaskitt (Warwick & Leamington)
Bridget Prentice (Lewisham East)
Gordon Prentice (Pendle)
Gwyn Prosser (Dover)
Ken Purchase (Wolverhampton North East)
Nick Raynsford (Greenwich & Woolwich)
John Robertson (Glasgow North West)
Terry Rooney (Bradford North)
Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd)
Christine Russell (Chester, City of)
Alison Seabeck (Plymouth Devonport)
Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield)
Jimmy Sheridan (Paisley & Renfrewshire North)
Angela C Smith (Sheffield Hillsborough)
Angela E Smith (Basildon), Jacqui Smith (Redditch),
Anne Snelgrove (Swindon South
John Spellar (Warley)
Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South West)
Gavin Strang (Edinburgh East), Gisela Stuart (Birmingham Edgbaston)
Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South)
Mark Tami (Alyn & Deeside)
Gareth Thomas (Harrow West)
Emily Thornberry (Islington South & Finsbury)
Don Touhig (Islwyn)
Derek Twigg (Halton)
Kitty Ussher (Burnley)
Keith Vaz (Leicester East)
Lynda Waltho (Stourbridge)
Claire Ward (Watford)
Tom Watson (West Bromwich East)
Dave Watts (St Helens North)
Phil Wilson (Sedgefield)
Rosie Winterton (Doncaster Central)
Shaun Woodward (St Helens South)
Phil Woolas (Oldham East & Saddleworth)
David Wright (Telford)
Iain Wright (Hartlepool)
Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne & Sheppey)

And, in the spirit of fairness, here's the Tory list:

David Amess (Southend West)
James Arbuthnot (Hampshire North East)
Henry Bellingham (Norfolk North West)
Brian Binley (Northampton South)
Sir John Butterfill (Bournemouth West)
Christopher Chope (Christchurch)
John Greenway (Ryedale)
Gerald Howarth (Aldershot)
Bernard Jenkin (Essex North)
Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove)
Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest)
Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)
Andrew Mackay (Bracknell)
Andrew Rosindell (Romford)
Hugo Swire (Devon East)
Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth & Horncastle)
Angela Watkinson (Upminster)
Ann Widdecombe (Maidstone & The Weald)
David Wilshire (Spelthorne)
Lady Ann Winterton (Congleton),
Sir Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield)