"Mr Pickles has nothing to hide and no over-inflated claims"
OUR MP IS SQUEAKY CLEAN ON EXPENSES
Our MP is one of the few saintly figures to emerge in the aftermath of the expenses scandal.
Eric Pickles, MP for Brentwood and Ongar, had nothing to hide when he visited the Gazette to show us his claims sheets and bills.
Mr. Pickles was among the lowest claimants for his second home in Wapping and has stopped claiming the additional costs allowance for the flat since becoming Party Chairman.
Furthermore, he has never claimed for a taxi journey, never maxed out his £400 a month food budget and never claimed for furnishings, appliances and luxury items in his home.
He said, “It is a one-bedroom flat. I have never regarded it as a second home. It is not my home, it is a place in which I sleep.”
He added: “I wasn’t aware of what others have been claiming, but over the last few months I have become acutely aware.”
In fact, the only costs Mr. Pickles has ever claimed for his second home have been interest on his mortgage, ground rent, insurance, security, maintenance and utility bills.
What’s more, the list of claims he did not make appears endless – he has refused to take taxpayers’ money for Party Chairman-related activities, for trips to Europe or for his wife’s travel expenses to London.
But the Gazette still demanded to know why he needed a second home, when he lives just 37 miles away in Mountnessing.
Undeterred, Mr. Pickles explained the long and unpredictable hours at Westminster means he rarely gets back much before midnight.
Also, Mr. Pickles claims he has been dogged with train delays and believes he is simply more effective living closer to the House of Commons.
“Being an MP is not 9 to 5, it is irregular and uncertain. When I first bought the flat, working until 3.0’clock in the morning was normal.”
The only claims Mr. Pickles was not able to show us receipts for were travel expenses, but these are available online and show he claimed a total of £4,502 between April 2007 and March 2008. And the grand total for all expenses claimed between this period, including travel, is £135,829.
All receipts are cleared by Fees Office and posted online
Everything claimed by Eric Pickles has been rubberstamped by the Fees Office, he tells us.
Mr. Pickles said the only correspondence he received from the Fees Office was over an article appearing on his website, where he compared Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to the Krankies.
He told them this piece had appeared in the Brentwood Gazette, and the matter was never taken any further.
In a bid to remain transparent, Mr. Pickles also publishes all his expenses online. Under new Tory measures all MPs’ claims will go straight online as soon as they are made, regardless of whether they are successful.
Mr. Pickles also used a cashbook system to keep costs among the lowest of all MPs.
This saw him claim about £200 petty cash each month from 2005 to the middle of last year in office costs allowance.
What can MPs claim for?
MPs are paid an annual salary and receive allowances for the costs of running an office.
MPs expenses at Westminster come under several different categories – including second homes allowance (additional costs allowance), travel costs, office costs allowance, communications allowance and staffing allowance.
Brentwood Gazette 17th June 2009
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