A new shake up of MP's allowances is likely to see an extra £10,000 be added to MP's office allowances to be spent on stamps. The BBC reports that this has come under fire from opposition MP's Jo Swinson (Lib Dem) and Julie Kirkbride (Con) as well as Chris Mullins, a Labour MP.
I have done some voluntary work in an MP's office, one of the busiest MP's offices in terms of casework in the country, and I know that the current allowance for stamps is sufficient. So why would the government be so obsessed with raising this amount by £10,000 ?
In my opinion it is simply to allow the posting of promotional/political leaflets and letters by MP's as opposed to legitimate casework letters affecting the constituency. Labour's funds are drying up and they have, in their key seats, relied heavily on mailshots and targetted letters because they no longer have the manpower to deliver these leaflets by hand. With funds dwindling, they no that an extra £10k is work about 2 letters per year to targetted select households. Of course Tory and Lib Dem MP's will get this advantage also, but it will allow Labour to hang on in some seats where they might otherwise lose.
It hardly seems right or necessary that the taxpayer should have to subsidise Labour's shortfall in revenue. I support some state funding of political parties, but not this "back door" way which gives an inherent advantage to sitting MP and the party in power over opposition parties.
I have done some voluntary work in an MP's office, one of the busiest MP's offices in terms of casework in the country, and I know that the current allowance for stamps is sufficient. So why would the government be so obsessed with raising this amount by £10,000 ?
In my opinion it is simply to allow the posting of promotional/political leaflets and letters by MP's as opposed to legitimate casework letters affecting the constituency. Labour's funds are drying up and they have, in their key seats, relied heavily on mailshots and targetted letters because they no longer have the manpower to deliver these leaflets by hand. With funds dwindling, they no that an extra £10k is work about 2 letters per year to targetted select households. Of course Tory and Lib Dem MP's will get this advantage also, but it will allow Labour to hang on in some seats where they might otherwise lose.
It hardly seems right or necessary that the taxpayer should have to subsidise Labour's shortfall in revenue. I support some state funding of political parties, but not this "back door" way which gives an inherent advantage to sitting MP and the party in power over opposition parties.
No comments:
Post a Comment