I note from the publishing of parliamentary expenses that my local MP has charged to taxpayers £3167.67 in respect of his website. The money was paid to a company called ButterMountain who seem (from their website) to exclusively do websites for Conservatives.
It strikes me that this is hellishly expensive, especially when compared to the rates Lib Dems can get from a company that offers a similar service to Lib Dem MPs and councillors.
The interesting thing about the company "Butter Mountain" is that they are very difficult to get information about. They have a basic website that gives no address or fees or explanation as to who the firm actually is, but what is clear, from Tory expenses returns, is that they do seem to charge a very high end price for a product which to me, appears is no better than other providers offer for much less.
Perhaps the parliamentary authorities should not just be publishing expenses claims, but also ensuring that MPs are getting best value and not giving too much money to companies that could appear to be charging a premium rate for a fairly standard product.
4 comments:
Curiously there is nothing on the £3000 website about his expenses...
Is Butter mountain a Tory linked organisation ? If so, wouldn't this be a bit dishonest
They're nicer than the Prater standard sites, but not that much nicer... Truth be told you can make a really good website with no maintainence cost using wordpress... See Duncan Hames or Mark Williams websites which are, in my opinion, far better than Prater sites.
Thanks for flagging this up Nich. Worth an in depth investigation...
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