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13/10/2009
Cameron Gets Tough On Expenses
The Tories have slipped back in the opinion polls.
They dropped one point to 40% while the government gained three to reach 30% in the first Populus poll to be carried out since the round of political conferences.
It is the smallest such gap since January and Labour's highest rating in the poll since April.
This will worry Conservative Leader David Cameron who has moved to address the continuing 'scandal' over MP's expenses.
Yesterday, he has warned his own MPs they face being barred from standing as Conservatives if they fail to pay back money demanded in the final determination of a review of expense claims.
Mr Cameron said "everyone" had to abide by the eventual decision made in the audit of expenses by retired civil servant Sir Thomas Legg - amid growing unrest in Parliament over the review.
"In the end, if people are asked to pay back money and if the authorities determine that money should be paid back and they don't pay it back, in my view, they can't stand as Conservative MPs, that is the minimum point," Mr Cameron told GMTV.
"One point is important, this is a process, you get a letter, in the letter it says 'this is provisional' and you have to reply to the letter and there will be some issues of determination about whether it is correctly described and all the rest of it.
"But at the end of the process, MPs have to pay back the money they are asked to by the authorities. To me that is the least we can do to try and sort out these problems of the past before going on to the future."
His remarks came after Gordon Brown agreed to pay back more than £12,000 of excessive expenses claims, but faced growing resistance from MPs reluctant to follow his lead.
The Prime Minister sought to set an example by immediately complying with a demand to pay back £12,415.10 he claimed for cleaning, gardening and decorating his second home.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg agreed to repay £910 in gardening expenses.
(BMcC/KMcA)
They dropped one point to 40% while the government gained three to reach 30% in the first Populus poll to be carried out since the round of political conferences.
It is the smallest such gap since January and Labour's highest rating in the poll since April.
This will worry Conservative Leader David Cameron who has moved to address the continuing 'scandal' over MP's expenses.
Yesterday, he has warned his own MPs they face being barred from standing as Conservatives if they fail to pay back money demanded in the final determination of a review of expense claims.
Mr Cameron said "everyone" had to abide by the eventual decision made in the audit of expenses by retired civil servant Sir Thomas Legg - amid growing unrest in Parliament over the review.
"In the end, if people are asked to pay back money and if the authorities determine that money should be paid back and they don't pay it back, in my view, they can't stand as Conservative MPs, that is the minimum point," Mr Cameron told GMTV.
"One point is important, this is a process, you get a letter, in the letter it says 'this is provisional' and you have to reply to the letter and there will be some issues of determination about whether it is correctly described and all the rest of it.
"But at the end of the process, MPs have to pay back the money they are asked to by the authorities. To me that is the least we can do to try and sort out these problems of the past before going on to the future."
His remarks came after Gordon Brown agreed to pay back more than £12,000 of excessive expenses claims, but faced growing resistance from MPs reluctant to follow his lead.
The Prime Minister sought to set an example by immediately complying with a demand to pay back £12,415.10 he claimed for cleaning, gardening and decorating his second home.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg agreed to repay £910 in gardening expenses.
(BMcC/KMcA)
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