Downing Street Says » MPs’ Expenses Vote

Asked if the Prime Minister was disappointed by the way Government Ministers voted in yesterday’s vote on MPs’ expenses and allowances, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) replied that the Prime Minister had always made clear that he was in favour of any move to enhance the transparency of MPs’ expenses and allowances, and so he was therefore disappointed by the outcome of yesterday’s vote. This was a Parliamentary measure, there was no Government motion and it was a free vote. There was a Government motion on pay and the Prime Minister very much welcomed the fact that MPs voted for pay restraint.

Asked why the Prime Minister hadn’t voted, the PMS said that it was clear that the option that the Prime Minister would have voted for, i.e. the Members Estimate Committee’s proposals, would be defeated with a significant majority. Yesterday had been the last working day that the Prime Minister would be in London until next Thursday (a full week) and there was a lot of Government business to deal with. Therefore, the decision was taken, given that it was clear that the vote would be lost, not to pull the Prime Minister out of his scheduled meetings.

Asked if the Prime Minister was particularly disappointed that his two Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPSs) voted for retaining the existing system, the PMS said that how individual MPs voted was a matter for them; it was a free vote. It was clear that there were many different reasons why MPs voted in the way they did, but if the question was why individual MPs voted in the way they did then it was best to ask them.

Asked why there was a Government motion on pay but not a Government motion on expenses, the PMS said that there was a Government motion on pay because we had a wider policy on public sector pay; it was important that Government Ministers should show a lead on this and vote in favour of pay restraint. This was an exceptional move, as traditionally it had normally been the case that votes on MPs’ pay and allowances were free votes.

Asked if it was correct that Ministers had to physically sign away their pay rise, the PMS said that he was not sure of what the exact procedures were but that the Cabinet Office could supply the administrative details; the key thing was that it was not going to happen.

Asked what would happen if a Minister decided not to sign away the pay rise, the PMS said that he was not aware that anyone was suggesting that.

Asked if the Prime Minister felt that this was the end of the matter regarding allowances, the PMS said that what happened next was a matter for the Parliamentary authorities to consider. The Prime Minister had always made clear that he was in favour of any move to enhance transparency and would welcome any further action to do this.

Put that there was a suggestion that an outside body should look at the issue of expenses in detail and asked if the Prime Minister would be supportive of that, the PMS repeated that the Prime Minister would be supportive of any move that enhanced the transparency of MPs’ expenses and allowances. However, this was a matter for the Parliamentary authorities to consider

Asked if the Prime Minister had decided not to vote to save himself the embarrassment of being on the wrong side of the vote, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had made his views on this very clear; he had consistently argued for greater transparency and that had been his position right from the beginning of the year when this first started becoming a major issue of controversy.

Asked why the Prime Minister had ducked the vote, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had not ducked the vote.

Asked how the Prime Minister knew that the vote was not going to be won, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had been kept informed of what the expectations of the vote in the normal way.

Asked if that meant that he had been kept informed by his PPSs, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had been kept informed by the Whips.

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» Friday, July 4, 2008

MPs’ Expenses Vote

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