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Category: MPs expenses probe

What’s striking about the Maria Miller polling is that CON voters are as hostile to her as everyone else

What’s striking about the Maria Miller polling is that CON voters are as hostile to her as everyone else

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Dominating the Mail on Sunday front page is report of Survation poll on Maria Miller pic.twitter.com/INWm0ltjXo — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) April 6, 2014 The Mail on Sunday ratchets up the pressure on Maria Miller Very often the most important factor in polling is not the data but how it is used. There can be few better examples than today’s Mail on Sunday coverage of its Maria Miller polling. The paper, like the Telegraph and the Times yesterday, is after her…

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Why do so many Tory MPs have second jobs?

Why do so many Tory MPs have second jobs?

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The Henry G Manson Friday column Ed Miliband’s decision to clamp down on the number of Labour MPs who have second jobs caused some surprise the other week. Following the 2015 general election no Labour MP will be able to work more than the value of 15% of their salary. Miliband called on other parties to follow suit. The way this story was reported suggested that if this policy was a stealth attack on the Conservative Party. But why? There…

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So will Barnsley Central be the next by-election?

So will Barnsley Central be the next by-election?

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Barnsley General election result Party Votes % +/- Eric Illsley Labour 17487 47.3 -10.4 Christopher Wiggin Liberal Democrat 6394 17.3 -2 Piers Tempest Conservative 6388 17.3 2.5 Ian Sutton British National Party 3307 8.9 4.4 David Silver UK Independence Party 1727 4.7 4.7 Donald Wood Independent 732 2 2 Tony Devoy Independent 610 1.6 1.6 Terry Robinson Socialist Labour Party 356 1 1 And will Labour’s ratings continue to be untouched? Today at Southwark Crown Court the only sitting MP…

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Is this the most high-profile case so far?

Is this the most high-profile case so far?

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BBC News What a busy morning for political news – the squeeze on high-earners pension contribution; the bonfire of the quangos, and now the news that high-profile former minister, Denis MacShane, has been suspended from the parliamentary Labour party after the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee, agreed MacShane’s conduct should be reported to the Metropolitan Police. Denis, who I knew well at the BBC in the late 1970s, is by far the highest-profile MP to have been referred to the…

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Is a decision on David Laws imminent?

Is a decision on David Laws imminent?

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Could he be back in his old job by the autumn? One betting market that could soon be coming to fruition is the one on whether ex-LD Treasury Secretary, David Laws, will return to the cabinet before the end of the year. He had to stand down, of course, following allegations about his expense claims for housing costs. This has been prompted by newspaper reports that he’s now part of a group of key Clegg advisers and efforts are being…

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Should the Telegraph have checked with the HMRC first?

Should the Telegraph have checked with the HMRC first?

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HMRC – Capital gains relief Are they trying too hard to find a story? There was a lot of heated argument on the overnight thread about the basis of Telegraph’s splash lead attack the new Treasury Secretary, Danny Alexander. This is all about capital gains tax on property which, as most are aware, does not apply to your main residence. It also, as I myself discovered some time back, does not apply for the final three years of ownership –…

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Will “others”, UKIP/GRN/BNP, really get a boost from this?

Will “others”, UKIP/GRN/BNP, really get a boost from this?

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Or will they be squeezed out in the Dave-Gord encounter? The general view ahead of the June 2009 Euro elections was that the parties that would gain most from the expenses scandal, which dominated the headlines for the weeks beforehand, would be UKIP, the Greens and the BNP. And so it was. UKIP easily beat Labour for second place in the national vote, the Greens had a good election while the BNP secured two seats at the EU parliament for…

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Are we going to see a “reverse incumbency” effect?

Are we going to see a “reverse incumbency” effect?

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What’s this going to do in individual key seats? So here we are – what many MPs are hoping will be the low point for them in the whole expenses saga – the publication today of the Legg Report. Until we see the actual document we won’t get the full scale of what he’s concluded but it seems that up to half of all MPs will be ordered to pay back between them about £1m and that Sir Thomas himself…

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