Ann Coffey's expenses

Ian Wylie

May 19, 2009

Submit Comments | Comments (19) | Previous | Next

STOCKPORT Labour MP Ann Coffey claimed £200 a month for a cleaner at her London home.

But the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Chancellor Alistair Darling said the regular payment to an agency was a reasonable expense.

"You will see when the receipts are published this year that, in fact, I've been under claiming," she told the MEN. "I think greater transparency is important but it has to be put within context." She also put in one claim of almost £2,000 for furniture and curtains but explained: "I think I've spent about ?4,000 on furniture in 17 years."

Mrs Coffey, 62, said she only claimed half the housing costs on her two-bed house in the capital, which she shares with her husband. Her total expenses claim in 2007 / 2008 was £150,246. An MP since 1992, she added: "I am very saddened. Clearly the unreasonable claims of some of my colleagues have reflected not only on other MPs but on the House of Commons itself. I feel very sad about that."

Submit Comments | Comments (19) | Previous | Next

Showing comments 1 to 19 and replies | View All

willing to listen, Middleton (19/05/2009 at 10:46)

Underclaiming ?????
Why do MP's think, if they have not claimed for something, which other greedy MP's have claimed for, then they MUST be undeclaiming ?
£150.246.00 was claimed in expenses by Ann Coffey for a mere two years, heaven help us,(the poor voting public) if she was to take up what 'she' considers to be her full entitlement !
The rich get richer.........I am sure, you know the rest...

Stad, Manchester (19/05/2009 at 11:25)

How can that be a reasonable expense? How many ordinary people employ someone to clean their house at £200.00 per month?

dessie, manchester (19/05/2009 at 12:57)

if its your house why dont YOU pay for the things thats needed for it, WE ALL HAVE TO???????

Dave (19/05/2009 at 14:07)

Wow! I didn't realise that they claimed so much! £150,000 on expenses, is that for 12 months or 2007 AND 2008?

If it's just for a 12 month period over 2007/2008, that's over twice her salary! What does she do with her salary then? Don't forget that she's served 2 terms so she'll be getting a pension for life too!

It's no wonder the country's bankrupt, because we're paying for the easy life for MP's. I'm ashamed that this woman represents me.

morph, Stockport (19/05/2009 at 16:22)

She also put in one claim of almost £2,000 for furniture and curtains but explained: "I think I've spent about ?4,000 on furniture in 17 years."

What she meant to say was "I think I've taken the mickey out of the taxpayer to the tune of £4,000 for furniture in 17 years." Her comments give an insight into how these MPs think

Jomov (19/05/2009 at 16:39)

Her comments just show how 'out of touch' and 'out of order' she really is, along with many others.

zarquon, bramhall (19/05/2009 at 16:50)

£200 a month is reasonable if you have an untidy dirty house, since it takes a lot of cleaning. Untidy house might mean untidy mind to some people. However it is unreasonable when it is an MP, as these people are intended to have clear and above all dust free minds...and hopefully homes at their own expense and not that of the taxpayer. Feather duster is less than a fiver in edgeley...near the football ground, the one in administration.

Retired, Wigan (19/05/2009 at 17:26)

Can her husband not clean up? When I and my wife was working we seemed to manage. We are both now retired.

nyb, ex manc (19/05/2009 at 17:28)

Our politicians' sense of reality, and their morality is seriously twisted. Why on earth should anyone in their right mind think that house cleaning should be an allowable expense paid for by the tax payer.

If they want to employ a house cleaner that's just fine, but they should foot the bill.

The Horse, Cheadle (19/05/2009 at 20:24)

£150K? The Tolpuddle Martyrs must be spinning in their graves.

Its time to end the Labour Party dismiss them all and start afresh with the Workers Party.

Jamie W, Heaton Moor (20/05/2009 at 21:27)

since she says she shares her housing costs with her husband doesn't that mean that they are paying £400 a month for a cleaner for a two bedroom house!?! Sod nursing, I'm going to get a job cleaning MP's houses...

N Harris, STALYBRIDGE (21/05/2009 at 08:14)

The largest part of the £150,246 expenses will be for Staff costs in her Constituency and at Westminster.

These are paid directly to the employees by the House of Commons.

MCFC once a blue always a blue, South Reddish (21/05/2009 at 20:08)

My heart bleeds for her,nice salary nice big fat juicy expenses and heres me wondering how to spend my pay rise of £2.80 a week sorry £2.14 mustn't forget the income tax got to go now someones at the door could be my gardener or housekeeper

red one (22/05/2009 at 13:46)

The expenses scandal it only the tip of the iceberg! What about MPs having a second job, which they are more dedicated to, as they have to work at it. Not like the pay from the taxpayer for which do very little work. What about the way they can flout the laws of the land, the same laws you and I have to follow or we end up in jail. What about all the whitewashing that takes place? What about the money paid by private individuals to MPs and Lords to influence the outcome of legislation and the passing of new laws. What about the stupid judges who let violent criminals off, let’s have a look at their expenses and perks. The same with councillors who are also on the fiddle with their expenses. Between them they have managed to ruin a great country and lose the confidence of honest working people who are having money stolen from them, whilst losing jobs, houses and dignity. My Grandfather who died for this country and my parents were very proud to be English and I was brought up to respect all people in particular the Labour Government. Now I am totally ashamed of my country and what other nations must think of us. I honestly have no idea who to give my vote to at the next election and most of my friends are going towards the rightwing parties like the BNP.

laddy, manchester (22/05/2009 at 13:53)

So, Ann Coffey feels saddened, while shedding her crocodile tears. Ask yourself Mrs Coffey how many working mums, or dads, for that matter have to come home and clean their own house. How long will it be before this godforsaken parliament cleans itself---not all the cleaners in all the world could clean that place up--Sorry, Mr Bogart

Stephen Whittle (25/05/2009 at 13:01)

I think it is very important that people clarify their facts here. I have personally found Ann a very helpful MP and very committed to the needs of her consituents.

So to clarify issues for your self, go to www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/ann_coffey/stockport#travel2008 and scroll down to the bottom of the page, and you will find details of all her expenses claims for the last 7 years.

Stephen

Peter Cave (27/05/2009 at 13:08)

The job of MPs is to represent their constituents and to scrutinise legislation - about 1 in 6 are also serving in government, and many are potential government ministers. I am very happy for them to employ cleaners at the market rate so that they can devote their time to doing that very important job properly - and I'm happy for those expenses to come from my taxes.

As another poster wrote, the majority of MPs' expenses go on the employment of staff, which are again necessary in order for them to do a proper job.

Although the general public don't appear to appreciate it (and the media don't seem to have the slightest interest in informing them), the costs of politics in Britain are often seen as low by other countries. One study in Japan in the early 1990s found that the costs of politics in Britain were lower than the US, Germany, and Japan (costs in the US were four times higher; in Germany five times higher; in Japan sixteen times higher!).

Some people seem to think we should let MPs spend nothing or next to nothing on expenses - so they have no staff, no residence in their contituency, have to pay to travel to and from their constituency, etc. I honestly don't think they would be pleased with the results. Anyone who works expects legitimate work expenses to be reimbursed - I certainly do.

AgProv, Somewhere with an SK postcode (18/06/2009 at 11:49)

Where did my submitted comment go, please?

I have to say if it's good enough for the Guardian to print on its comments page, it MUST be acceptible by the Stockport Express! Esp. since there is now clear evidence of nose in trough.

AgProv, Somewhere with an SK postcode (18/06/2009 at 11:55)

How the truth reveals itself, grudgingly and full of great black censorship marks...

I had dealings with New "Labour" MP Ann Coffey eleven or twelve years ago when I made a claim for unemployment benefit that was refused on a technicality, I wrote to her to protest about the decision and to ask for her help in challenging it.

The response I got from Ms Coffey MP (then PPS to Blair himself) was not helpful, openly suggested I should use my energy to look for work rather than relying on benefits, and bluntly said that there was only so much money in the pot for state benefits and that national resources should be concentrated on those in greatest need. (I wrote back and told her that as I'd paid my N.I. like everyone else, I expected a return on that insurance policy when I needed it in the form of basic subsistence to tide me over while I was in between jobs. That I didn't expect a Labour MP to talk down to me as if she'd forgotten what party she belonged to, and reminded her of what was then the big political scandal - the unelected cabinet minister whose wallpaper was costed at £600 per roll, or something equally spendthrift. When Ms Coffey MP was lecturing me about the need for state cash to go to those in greatest need, did she mean her colleague's great need for over-priced wallpaper? She never replied)

In that moment Labour lost my vote - it's taken a while, but now the country seems to have followed on for much the same reasons!

As the MP for Stockport by all accounts owns three homes (as she was proud to tell the Express in one of her regular PR features), one in the constituency, one in London for work and a marital home in Surrey, I'd dearly love to scrutinise her expense account in some detail, as I've never forgiven her for as good as calling me a benefit scrounger all those years ago. If her nose has been in the trough like the rest of them, I'd quite like it to be made as public as possible!

(What goes around comes around, Ann...)

()

Report This

News