Saturday 17 April 2010

Tim Farron on West Gaz site

Terry chose to run down Tim for his high expenses

This ruffled my feathers, I left the following comment:

Re Tim and facebook. I'm not a Lib. Dem. supporter, per se, I vote for the person. Neither am I in his constituency.

But I regularly meet him and contact him with information on various issues because I know he's concerned - eg Affordable Housing , a subject he has address several times in Parliament. By contacting him I increase his expenses because he has to employ someone to deal with my correspondence.

I actually want MPs to have higher expenses if this means that they are working harder for their electors.

The ones to watch out for are those with low expenses. Do they do anything with their time for us? No expenses suggests that they go fishing all day or spend the time reading the news but actually do nothing. Expenses in the nature of travel, researchers, secretaries, lunches imply to me that someone is out and about meeting, communicating and pursuing issues with vigour.

Tim is a shining light showing other MPs how the job should be done. He's worth every penny. Just be grateful you've got him - otherwise we in Furness will nick him!

People like you(Terry) can cause genuine people to give up in dismay with "Why the Hell should I bother ?"

If you can do better then why aren't you running for office?

* * * * * * *

Just remember for the future that when I run for office next, I won't come cheap.

Though I am ready to use the majority of my allowance of £3,000 as a SLDC councillor, on a researcher, I shall also expect you the public to contribute to legitimate expenses of single car travel and some visits to Kendal by taxi mainly paid by me as I chivvy the local civil servants to do their jobs well.(Only this way will I avoid falling asleep at the wheel and be able to pack in all the work I intend to do)

Alternatively I'll settle for a service charge for my efforts - on all the money I save you guys in getting work by bureaucrats and dodgy contractors done more efficiently. (SLDC was one of the most inefficient Councils in the country according to the Audit Commission - in the bottom 15% -- or have they suddenly improved?) - Just remember the most amazing figure revealed recently - £430 per week to maintain each public toilet - on this item alone I stand to get a fair service charge .

39 toilets in the district cost £790,000. - Potential saving say £400,000. Just imagine the savings on SLDC budget of £15 million for 2010


Deal or no deal?

Now where am I going wrong in my thinking?

Help please!

1 comment:

Gladys Hobson said...

Not sure the picture of an energetic guy on top of the job comes through if he is unable to keep awake at the wheel for a half hour drive. Does this mean that you will need a secretary to keep nudging you to keep awake and take notes when you are nodding off?
Not sure that it follows that someone claiming high expenses is working harder than one that does not. Some people are used to living economically, others have a richer life style. Some people will combine jobs and save on expenses, others will cost things separately. Some will travel by pedal power others by car. Some will walk around their patch chatting to those they might meet on the way, others may prefer to save time and go by car to local destinations. Some may car-share, others prefer to travel alone.
The way I see it — councillors are restricted by budgets and departmental procedures, with the best will in the world they can't always fulfil promises or do everything that is asked of them. For instance: if money is given by Government for a certain purpose and it can only be used for that (or not at all) it must be frustrating when other things, deemed to be far more urgent, are either left until the next budget or fall by the wayside.