Another week, another Lords' scandal. This fine figure of a man is the Noble Lord Rosser (with an R). He is also known among his noble friends as The Hon Baron Rosser of Ickenham in the London Burgh of Hillingdon.
The good lord is an ex-trade unionist, who in his day, railed against the fat cats who rode the gravy train. But in a typical case of poacher turned gamekeeper, on his appointment to the House of Lords in 2004, Rosser got himself a first class return ticket on that transport of delight.
It seems that in 2007 the noble Baron bought himself a flat in Chippingham, Wiltshire, for the sum of £240,000, whilst retaining the four-bedroomed “family home” in the capital. He then informed the House of Lords authorities that his main residence was, in fact, in Wiltshire. This meant that he was able to avail himself of the £174 a night accommodation allowance available to members of the upper house whose main residence is not in London. So what happens is he lives in his Ickenham family home and pockets the cash that we have generously made available for the payment of hotel bills.
Nice one Fat Cat.
Thus far only records for the year 2007-2008 are available and they show that Rosser (with an R) claimed a total of £19,461 without having to show receipts. If he has continued to claim at the same rate he may have made off with somewhere in the region of £50,000.
As is the story with so many of these peers who are taking us for monkeys, his neighbours at his London home say that he still lives there, and neighbours at his “flat of convenience” say that he is rarely to be seen.
Needless to say Lord Rosser (with an R) says that he has done nothing wrong. He issued a statement to that effect through the House of Lords authorities saying that he was on the electoral register at both addresses. (This in itself is strange as I thought you could only be on the electoral register at one address in the UK no matter how important and aristocratic you were.) Perhaps one of the most disturbing things about this fella is that he is a part time Magistrate (some sort of English Lower Court judge). He may well have benefit cheats come up before him on the bench. Amazing!
Nothing surprises me anymore with the bunch of parasites. Politics has to be cleaned out Tris and thoroughly. I'm sick of hearing how you won't get 'qualified' people if they don't get big money. You don't need one qualification to do the job!
ReplyDeleteWill he be asked to pay it back? No sireeee.
It seems that there is nothing left in the British state that is not bankrupt or on the fiddle. We know that MP’s have been, it seems that their noble Lordships are and of course we are not allowed to know what the expenses for the Royals are like because they were exempted from Freedom of Information laws. So let’s assume that some Privy Councillor took one look at the Royal Expenses bill and thought “good lord, if this ever gets out there will be a revolution” better exempt them from that law that says the people ought to know how their money is spent. And when Gorbals Mick saw a similar list of MPs expenses he dropped his Waterford Crystal glass of Sweetheart Stout all over his orange swirly patterned hand stitched Axeminster and thought “we had better get this little lot exempted” from the same legislation. And when that failed him and his wife hailed a passing stretch limo to get down to Carter Ruck and spend half a million quid on delaying tactics so that his team could spend a year with the redacting pen and a lake of black ink.
ReplyDeleteMorning Subrosa:
ReplyDeleteIt's become a habit that one or another of them from the House of Toffs will be on the pages of a Sunday newspaper every week.
You're right. It's a job that needs no qualifications just like thier honourable friends in teh Commons and they don't seem to have to do much. Just turn up.
What annoys me more than anything I think is that other people who work for the government, in any way at all, have to account of every halfpenny that they spend. These Lords can claim £170+ per day with no receipts. This is probably some tradition ging back to when Adam was a lad that said that an English gentleman's word was his bond and no one needed to see evidence.
Well, whether it was true back then I don't know, but one thing's for sure, it ain't true now.
Ah Munguin:
ReplyDeleteYou paint such an accurate picture of the goings on in London I some times wonder if you are not The Rt Hon and Noble Lord Martin himself. Or are you Prince Philip?
Sweetheart Stout you say... not very Greek?
Tris, if I am Lord Martin of Springburn or Prince Philip I must be using some kind of complex reverse psychology to convert the various Republicans on the blogosphere to my devious hereditary and monarchical hidden agenda. By ripping into them at every opportunity does that make you love them? Is it working? Are you beginning to feel the cockles of you heart warmed by the notion that some opinionated gardener with ears like taxi doors and a tampon fixation is better than you or anyone else in the UK other than his mother?
ReplyDeletePoint taken Munguin. You just appeared to have so much inside information I was beginning to get suspicious.
ReplyDeleteThis is just the tip of the ice-berg. When you work for the Labour party one of the first things you are told by MPs from Scotland is not to rock the boat. In other words if you are flying from Glasgow to London you must claim the full fare because "everyone else is doing it" so even if you are able to get a cheaper flight you still claim the full fare. I don't know about now but at one time you could be a couple of hundred pounds a week better off. There were lots of other benefits such as staying in the Union Jack club and subsequently claim for staying in a hotel which befitted your stature etc etc.
ReplyDeleteBrownlie:
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder why they don't print a list of the people who are not on the fiddle. Then I remember that they are newspapers and that one article covering a dozen or so honest ones wouldn't sell any newspapers... and then I also think...what would I do on a Sunday for blog material if I didn't have the troughers?
The answer to all these things is so simple. Receipts for everything and all expenses on line every three months. No excuses
Where did I hear that policy before?
Barnett Formula fiddle's billions to Scotland out of English Taxpayers
ReplyDeleteVote Yes and be gooorrnnn.