SALFORD MP Hazel Blears appeared on television brandishing a cheque to the taxman as she tried to rebuild her reputation following the expenses saga.
Ms Blears hit the headlines after leaked expense claims showed she accrued more than £20,000 per year in second-home allowances as the fall-out from revelations about MPs’ expenses centered on the conduct of the communities and local government secretary.
Ms Blears sent a cheque for £13,000 to the Inland Revenue after revelations she avoided paying capital gains tax on the sale of her London home, but maintains she had acted within the rules and the law.
The leaked expense claims also show that Ms Blears spent £850 on a TV and video and £651 on a mattress for her home in Salford in March 2004.
After selling her London property in August 2004, she claimed for two months living in London hotels - including claims for two Kit Kat Chunkies and a glass of wine.
Hazel said: "I’m really aware of how angry the public are about all this. I talked to my husband and although I have complied with all the rules and am not liable for the money, I decided that I wanted to pay what I would have done in capital gains tax.
"I put the cheque in the post in order to rebuild my relationship with the people of Salford."
Despite repaying the money, Ms Blears still insisted she had done nothing wrong and called for a review of the parliamentary expenses system.
She said: "I think the whole system is in disrepute and needs to be reformed top and bottom.
"When I became an MP my first home was in Salford, and when I became a minister the Fees Office said that I had to designate my flat in Kennington as my main home. The reason for this is an old archaic rule that had been in place for about 50 or 75 years.
"If you are a minister, they said that your main home has to be in London because you had to spend most of your time there.
"In 2004 they changed the rules to allow all members to designate which home was their main home."
Ms Blears also defended her claims for a glass of white wine and two Kit Kats from the mini-bar of a London hotel.
She said: "While I sold my flat in Kennington, I stayed in hotels and I even stayed in a friend’s house to save money because I didn’t have anywhere to live in London. The Kit Kat Chunky was what I had to eat after a day of meetings - I took it from the minibar and it was on the hotel bill which I submitted to the Fees Office.
"It wasn’t as if I’d deliberately claimed for a four-course meal. If people take the view that a Kit Kat Chunky is the basis of all this then they can, but the reality is that the life I lead does mean that I have to come home late and get something to eat. I didn’t look at that bill meticulously and I think it is fair to say that the system needs to be more meticulous."
See this week's Advertiser for more reaction ...
Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
Richard Carvath (14/05/2009 at 16:40)
Hazel Blears is responsible for the claims which she has made and nobody is fooled by her attempt to wriggle off the hook by blaming the system.
Ordinary Salfordians are simply staggered by the sums which Blears has claimed, by her shuffling of her main residence status and by the things which she has claimed for.
It is obvious to all that there is now a serious question mark over Hazel Blears' future which cannot be casually brushed aside.
With a General Election looming, Salfordians have to ask whether they can stomach Hazel Blears any longer.
lizard (15/05/2009 at 15:15)
I am extremely happy to see hers, and other MP`s greed/dishonesty displayed in the public arena, for one reason, that the voting public wake up and stop putting there trust in the dishonourable honourable members of government.
The most amusing spectacle is to see MEMBERS FROM ALL PARTIES! (Richard) trying to pass the guilty book to "the system" they helped create, they have rigorously guarded against scrutiny, in order to present themselves as victims!, if they are indeed victims in all this, then that in itself should disqualify them from the important jobs they are paid to do, as they evidently are not equipped to follow simple written rules, it surely follows that they are not intellectually capable of the making rules and decisions their powerful position requires them to do.
Everyone reading this comment should voice an opinion on this particular matter, as Hazel "clearly" is having difficulty reading "her public's" opinion of her and their wish for her political future, which I hope, and it should, come to an end. but fear not those who back her, as she is unlikely to disappear from public view, as her need for publicity is greater than her pride!.
Final note; Hazel, As you have satisfied the tax man, then do the same for the "business partners" that helped fund your property speculation, and share the profits with them, the taxpayer!.
Peter doff (15/05/2009 at 15:23)
Mr J (15/05/2009 at 16:39)
By declaring repeatedly that no capital gains tax was due, Ms Blears made it clear that her cheque was not actually for capital gains tax.
If HM Revenue & Customs actually cash her cheque (which they may not) all they can do with it is credit it against future tax due. In effect, all she has done is pre-pay the tax she will have to pay for next year!
This means that her gesture was actually worthless.
By repaying sums to the House of Commons Fee Office, at least the other exposed MPs had the decency to put their hands in their pockets in their attempts to rebuild their tattered reputations. Ms Blears has obtained the same PR benefits without actually returning a penny.
You have to admire the guile.
lizard (15/05/2009 at 17:26)
Jon Marshall (15/05/2009 at 19:47)
If Ms Blears thinks that this cheque will recover her standing in Salford she is sadly mistaken. We have now seen clearly what makes her tick - greed and self interest. Totally unacceptable behaviour and morally bankrupt, but she shows no remorse at all.
It is time for Salfordians to collectively call for her resignation or deselection.
lizard (16/05/2009 at 14:47)
Helen Dean (16/05/2009 at 17:48)
william mchugh (16/05/2009 at 23:39)
Jon Marshall (17/05/2009 at 16:14)
However, it is important not to lose sight of how Salford's MP has promoted herself and her values in the past, and then make a comparison with the way she has conducted herself in relation to the Allowances issue.
Hazel Blears is the author of a paper "The Politics of Decency".
It was pubished in September 2004, just prior to Labour's successful campaign for relection for the 3rd term.
In this paper she refers to Modern Socialism being about ethics and the need to rebuild the basic values of decency in our society. She suggests that the behaviour of the individual has an effect on wider society.
She concludes that free-market individualism must be replaced by social values built on trust, interdependance and decency.
Has Ms Blears conducted herself strictly in accordance with these ideals?
Consider this:
In March, 2004, Ms Blears stated that her second home was the property she owned in her Salford constituency, which she has owned with her
husband since June, 1997.
The following month she changed her declaration and began claiming that a flat in Kennington, south London, was her second home. She started claiming £850 a month for the mortgage on the flat.
In August, 2004, she sold the flat for £200,000, making a profit of £45,000. No Capital Gains Tax was due because she had declared the flat as her Main residence for tax purposes, even though it was registered as
her second home with the house of Commons Fees Office.
This practice is not in the spirit of the rules laid down in the Green Book Guide to Member's Allowances.
It would appear that the cheque she claims to have posted to H M Revenue and Customs cannot genuinely be offset against her profit, and just amounts to a publicity stunt (or worse).
She does not deserve the support of the Labour Party or the people of Salford.
lizard (17/05/2009 at 18:18)
"she would stand down now." what with her fat pension, and the possibility of her resurfacing?.. no "standing down"! nonsense! she should be sacked, pension withdrawn, the only thing she should take with her is the shame she has brought on Salford and the public at large!, she is a no socialist, she is a socio path!.
Dennis the Menace, Hyde (18/05/2009 at 01:19)
But on a more sreious note regaring this issue ..... HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU TRUST SOME ONE TO REPRESENT A COMMUNITY WHEN ALL THEY DO IS SEEK TO LINE THEIR OWN POCKETS FROM US THE TAXPAYERS ???????, AS MANY OTHERS HAVE SAID AND WILL NO DOUBT CONTINUE TO SAY ...... ITS HIGH TIME SHE WAS REPLACED FOR SOMEONE WHO REALLY WANTS TO DO GOOD FOR THE AREA !!!!!!
GO NOW HAZEL BEFORE YOU BRING MORE DISREPUTE ON THE AREA !!!!!
Robert Sullivan (18/05/2009 at 17:57)
oldsals, sidmouth (19/05/2009 at 11:21)
"on your bike"
Richard Carvath (19/05/2009 at 14:42)
But I don't think Hazel Blears could ever repay the people of Salford and the UK for the political atrocities which she has inflicted upon us during the twelve years she's so far enjoyed riding the parliamentary gravy train.
Robert Sullivan (19/05/2009 at 20:12)
Sidebar from Encarta Appears in
Cromwell: “In the Name of God, Go”
After Charles I, king of England, was executed in 1649, the Rump Parliament prevented Oliver Cromwell from convening an interim council to formulate a new constitution. Cromwell was the dominant figure in the victory over Charles I, but the Rump Parliament was a more conservative assembly than the body that had agreed to execute the king and abolish the monarchy. In 1653, after learning that Parliament was attempting to stay in session despite an agreement to dissolve, Cromwell’s patience ran out. He dismissed the assembled members with this speech. The “shining bauble” referred to is the parliamentary staff, which must be present, by convention, in order for Parliament to sit.
“In the Name of God, Go”
April 20, 1653
It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money; is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? is there one vice you do not possess? ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter’d your conscience for bribes? is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth? ye sordid prostitutes have you not defil’d this sacred place, and turn’d the Lord’s temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress’d, are yourselves become the greatest grievance. Your country therefore calls upon me to cleanse this Augean stable, by putting a final period to your iniquitous proceedings in this House; and which by God’s help, and the strength he has given me, I am now come to do; I command ye therefore, upon the peril of your lives, to depart immediately out of this place; go, get you out! Make haste! Ye venal slaves be gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. In the name of God, go!
salford expat, not salford any longer (20/05/2009 at 06:14)
Scott White (20/05/2009 at 12:21)
Let's get a campaign going to get sleazebuster Martin Bell to stand against Ms Blears.
Salford would never elect a Tory, and I cannot see Norman Owens making much impression.
The Salford Labour Party don't seem to think that tax avoidance is a problem for our MP and Minister, so let's show them what we think.
Parkey, Worsley (20/05/2009 at 12:45)
lizard (20/05/2009 at 14:13)
To blears and crew, the “shining bauble” is anything they can grab from the peasants, though the authenticity of the parliamentary staff ought to be checked, with the hope it hasn't been weighed in by one of the many counterfeit honourable members.
lizard (20/05/2009 at 14:39)
We all know, that should petitions be available, on Salford streets for its people, reams of paper would be needed to accommodate the signatures, maybe that's what it will take to make it "clear" to blears that the sordid way she operates are not acceptable to her constituents, a national petition would yield the same message. If none of the above happens, no doubt her expertise will qualify her as minister for homes, in the reshuffle that is about to happen.
lizard (20/05/2009 at 15:35)
"However, her local constituency party ruled out deselecting her as an MP last night and despite his earlier comments, Mr Brown expressed confidence in her today.
His spokesman said: 'In the Prime Minister's view she is doing a good job as Communities Secretary.". It appears it is not only blears who has difficulty in seeing things "clearly"..
irate taxpayer (20/05/2009 at 23:39)
Richard Carvath (21/05/2009 at 11:33)
There are already three known local prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs) for Salford and Eccles, any of whom would - by definition - serve as an anti-Hazel vote:
(1) Local Liberal Democrat Councillor for Claremont ward Norman Owen will be the Lib Dem candidate.
(2) Local man Robert Wakefield is already on public record as being UKIP's PPC for Salford and Eccles.
(3) Local man Richard Carvath [i.e. me] is already on public record as being an Independent PPC for Salford and Eccles.
The Conservatives and the BNP will also certainly contest Salford and Eccles but have yet to name their PPCs.
I can't speak for the other candidates, but speaking for myself I certainly see myself as a strong anti-corruption candidate, not least because as an Independent I am untainted by party politics and also because I have already made a binding commitment that if I am elected I will accept only a salary in line with the National Minimum Wage.
lizard (21/05/2009 at 14:26)