Helen GoodmanSometimes, when you are reading a newspaper, you rub your eyes and stare at the screen just to make sure that you haven’t misread; you check to make sure it’s not April first, and then you pinch yourself and..... yes... you remember that you’re living in the UK.... that is La La Land.
Today we have the story of poor wee Helen Goodman, a junior minister of sorts at the Dept of Work and Pensions. She has announced to the world that unless women are allowed to claim for cleaners on their expenses they will not be able to come into politics. (Note to jobcentre staff: Don’t try to force unemployed females into vacancies that don’t have a cleaner on expenses.)
Ms Goodman has suggested, according to the Daily Mail, that Kelly’s proposals are sexist because women do most of the cleaning, then she rattles on with a bundle of complaints about how unfair it all is, before she admits that she hasn’t actually read all of the report. How’s that, a minister of the crown mouthing off before she’s read the report?
Goodman, who is married with two children, claims £84 a month for cleaning on top of her £92,000+ salary.
Now maybe I’m a bit dim, but the way I see it, we all have to sort our lives out the way we can best live them. Within a family group we have different chores that we see to, because, no matter how high and mighty we are we still need to eat, sleep, wash, clean up and various other things, on top of doing our job. So, in lots of families where two parents are working, they share the cleaning duties, maybe with the kids or granny or grandad. If someone says that they cannot do their job properly (specially with a £90,000 salary) unless they have a cleaner on expenses, I would think maybe they should think about another career.
I also have to assume that Ms Goodman wouldn't be so selfish as to assume that the perk of cleaner should only apply to female MPs. I'm guessing that what she is suggesting is that all women who work should be able to put a cleaner on their expenses. As a minister at the Dept of Work and pensions, she may want to rethink that policy somewhat, or at lest run it by Yvette.
By the way Ms Goodman is not exactly a stranger to expenses scandal. Although she has only been an MP since 2005 she has managed to rack up a couple of indiscretions so far: renting a holiday cottage at £519 and submitting hotel bills for a period prior to her even being an MP.
Even for a Westminster trougher, that’s pushing the boat out.
