Should we leave it there - Maria Miller?

[DeathAxe]

She should be jailed like any other fiddler. It is an absolute disgrace that MPs are above the law.

[Manlinose]

she failed to co-operate with the enquiry into her expenses claims - rather than giving them the information they required, she questioned why they wanted it and refused to provide it - either she has something to hide or she is an arrogant MP who thinks no-one should be allowed to question her conduct

 

i admire mr cameron's loyalty to those who are loyal to him, but even he must see that her actions should not be compatible with that of a cabinet minister

[poppet2]

Do you know what makes me sick?

 

If you are on benefit and you just have an extra bedroom, you get you housing benefit cut.

 

But if you are an MP, you can have an extra HOUSE and the taxpayer will pay for it.

 

Then, to make matters worse, when they sell it, the MP can pocket the profit.

 

The £1 million profit should go back to the state!

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/10730894/Maria-Millers-1m-profit-on-taxpayer-funded-home.html

[I1L2T3]

She should be jailed like any other fiddler. It is an absolute disgrace that MPs are above the law.

 

On the face of it it looks like she has taken out a big mortgage on a home, got the taxpayer to part-fund the interest payments then sold the home making a huge capital gain.

 

Is that illegal? It's certainly morally repugnant but is it actually illegal? The general quietness about this across all the party benches suggests she won't be the only one. Very few MPs are actually sticking their head above the parapet on this one so a lot of them will be at it, snouts stuck in the trough.

[poppet2]

On the face of it it looks like she has taken out a big mortgage on a home, got the taxpayer to part-fund the interest payments then sold the home making a huge capital gain.

 

Is that illegal? It's certainly morally repugnant but is it actually illegal? The general quietness about this across all the party benches suggests she won't be the only one. Very few MPs are actually sticking their head above the parapet on this one so a lot of them will be at it, snouts stuck in the trough.

 

Correct.

Other MPs from other parties are keeping quiet because they are too busy looking over their own shoulders.

[ronthenekred]

If you don't understand the rules surrounding expenses then I don't want you to have any involvement in my constituency. If you are found to break those rules then you most certainly go to prison

 

Would you entrust such a morally bankrupt person with the keys to your property? I guess you wouldn't, in the same way you wouldn't trust a thief with them.

 

Lots of descent in the Tory party on this, just no big hitters.

[alchresearch]

Has she committed a criminal offence? I have to be honest that I'm not sure.

 

Has she broken rules for MPs? The answer to that is very clear - yes. And she has been disciplined for that.

 

Has her behaviour in response to the investigation been wrong - absolutely.

 

In view of the latter two points then really she is not fit to be a senior minister. Clearly whether she is allowed to stand as an MP for the Tories in 2015 is for her party to decide.

 

Sadly Cameron isn't listening to the party members. I think it was 85% who wanted her out, as opposed to 75% of the general public.

[taxman]

On the face of it it looks like she has taken out a big mortgage on a home, got the taxpayer to part-fund the interest payments then sold the home making a huge capital gain.

 

Is that illegal? It's certainly morally repugnant but is it actually illegal? The general quietness about this across all the party benches suggests she won't be the only one. Very few MPs are actually sticking their head above the parapet on this one so a lot of them will be at it, snouts stuck in the trough.

 

If anyone is interested enough and has time on their hands the original correspondence between Miller and the Commissioner for Standards can be found here and the final report by the committee and their conclusions can be found here.

 

Fundamentally Millar seems aggrieved that the complaint was ever made in the first place, then she argues pedantically about the scope of the enquiry then she threatens the commissioner with engaging lawyers to contest her claims.

 

About halfway through the first document the Commissioner appears to agree with Miller that the terms of the original complaint cannot be upheld, but the Commissioner then goes on to query other aspects. It is then that Miller becomes really stroppy.

 

The Commissioner was obviously trying to be thorough but does come across as nitpicking (asking for witness testimony from 7 years ago about childcare arrangements for instance).

 

At the end of it all I think the Commissioner has erred on the side of caution by asking Miller to pay back a large sum because she could not get to the bottom of what Miller was doing.

 

The Committee on the other hand has believed Miller on the substantive point but agreed with the Commissioner on the small point about mortgage interest payments (The Commissioner repeatedly asks Miller about why she claimed mortgage interest amounts higher than her bank statement showed were being paid out, but Miller had difficulty supplying any worthwhile answers).

 

Like I say, if you've got a few hours.......

[Mecky]

On the face of it it looks like she has taken out a big mortgage on a home, got the taxpayer to part-fund the interest payments then sold the home making a huge capital gain.

 

Is that illegal? It's certainly morally repugnant but is it actually illegal? The general quietness about this across all the party benches suggests she won't be the only one. Very few MPs are actually sticking their head above the parapet on this one so a lot of them will be at it, snouts stuck in the trough.

 

I wonder how her other three properties have been funded?

 

---------- Post added 08-04-2014 at 12:29 ----------

 

Remind me why the UK is also so backward too ?

 

You only had to look at peoples' faces and their general demeanour to see the UK is doomed. I keep trying to imagine what's going on in their heads and all I see is a picture of a dead donky with flies swarming around it

[salsafan]

That would be perception

 

Apparently inside the Tory party there are increasing calls of dissonance. If Cameron keeps her (which I suspect he will) it just goes to show how shambolic politics in this country are becoming.

 

But then this shows that we are a proper "democratic" government. He is also testing his subordinates too.

 

I thought that figures are figures and that you cannot go wrong. But apparently when discrepencies are found, then you need to debate that in front of the committee, by law. She apologised for not being co-operative, because she may not be aware that it is also an actual legal process on the side of her role as an MP. Which I find personally confusing.

 

You would think that there are strict guidelines. e.g. "If cannot find housing further than 1 mile from office, then a second home can be considered." All this is too subjective at the moment, and that is why she is being targetted. In a normal company, the employee would not need to deal with so much discrepencies, and they have to go through a centralised purchasing department for the options. The management team also know too. Maybe this is an actual process that is needed to be in place to begin with ?

 

In terms of business processes, the government can certainly improve this aspect. No more of this "I made a decision for my own life, and this is my job as an MP", than a "I stand in office, and my office is my life, and I live a moral life through all of my choices."

 

I find it odd that people say that this country is not a Christian country but then they hold the MPs and the PMs to be an entirely different kettle of fish and it has to go through their entire life, and in each and everyone of their decision personally and publically. I find that odd to believe and quantify.