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View Full Version : MPs Moran And Kirkbride To Quit Over Expenses



gmb45
28th May, 2009, 06:36 PM
brilliant that 2 more scumbags gone, bet they get a secret pay off tho

Tory MP Julie Kirkbride and Labour's Margaret Moran will both step down over the expenses scandal, they have announced.

Eleven MPs have now resigned as a result of the affair.

Bromsgrove MP Ms Kirkbride followed her husband, Andrew MacKay, in announcing her departure from parliament at the next general election.

The couple came under fire when it emerged that Commons allowances had been used to simultaneously fund both the homes where they lived.

In a resignation letter to party leader David Cameron, Ms Kirkbride wrote: "Today I am announcing that I will not seek re-election for my Bromsgrove constituency.

"My principal concern has to be for my very loyal local supporters in Bromsgrove whose trust in me has been very humbling in the last few weeks.

"I also want to see the Conservative Party have a great result in next week's elections, which will lead to a real change at the general election and you as our prime minister.

"I also must take into account the effects on my family."

She added: "I truly understand people's anger about MPs' expenses, but I have been subject to a barrage of distorted press stories which I have sought to rebut."

Mr Cameron said it had been Ms Kirkbride's decision but added: " I have to be tough and take difficult decisions and I am prepared to do that.

"I've also got to be consistent and fair. That is what I have been throughout and why I have established this scrutiny panel to look through all of the MPs' second-home claims.

"I have acted very swiftly in all of the cases that have come in front of me."

Ms Kirkbride has been under pressure to stand down since it was revealed she and her husband had effectively been claiming the second home allowance for mortgage interest payments on two properties - one in London and one in the Midlands.

Bracknell MP Mr MacKay claimed more than ?1,000 a month for interest payments on a joint mortgage for their London home despite not having a property in his constituency.

Ms Kirkbride, who represents Bromsgrove, claimed ?900 for mortgage interest on her constituency home in Bromsgrove.

In addition it was revealed on Tuesday that she paid her sister ?12,000 of taxpayers' money to work as a secretary, even though she was based 100 miles from Ms Kirkbride's constituency.

And last night it emerged Ms Kirkbride had claimed expenses to help pay for a ?50,000 extension to one of her homes so her brother could stay there.

Many of Ms Kirkbride's constituents are calling for her to stand down now, and not wait until the next election.

But party leaders are unlikely to want a by-election on the back of expenses allegations about their MPs.

And political commentator Michael Brown told Sky News there was another reason.

"The reason there won't be any by-elections between now and next year is because if you resign in a by-election, you do not get severance pay.

"Any MP who gets to the general election and stands down or is defeated, if they have been in the House of Commons for more than 15 years and are aged over 55, in the case of Andrew McKay for example, he will get ?66,000.

His wife will get ?33,000. That is why there won't be any by-elections any time soon."

Luton South MP Ms Moran has been under fire after it was disclosed that she claimed ?22,500 for treating dry rot at her partner's home in Southampton, 100 miles from both her constituency and Westminster.

In a statement, she said: "The understandable public anger over the issue of MPs' expenses has caused me great stress and has seriously worsened my existing health problem.

"It is with great sadness that I have today informed the general secretary of the Labour Party following discussion with my family that I intend to stand down as an MP for Luton South at the next general election.

"This will give my Labour Party colleagues an opportunity to select a new candidate to put forward at the next election.

She added: "However, it is very important that I set out clearly that I make absolutely clear that I have done nothing wrong or dishonest in relation to my claim for expenses and have at all times acted on advice from the House of Commons Fees Office in relation to my family home in Southampton."

Mahmood Hussain, chairman of Luton South Labour Party, said: "It would have probably been very difficult for her to be a candidate at the next election."

He said her claims were a "misjudgment on her part".

Sky's political correspondent Glen Oglaza said: "What is interesting is that neither Julie Kirkbride nor Margaret Moran have expressed any regret about anything they have done.

"At the moment a game is being played between Labour and the Conservatives, not just as to who can be most macho in dealing with these miscreant MPs, but also showing how effective they are being."

Meanwhile there are reports Tory MP Christopher Fraser who claimed ?1,800 for trees on his property will also stand down at the next election.