Tea Party?

After those reports Thursday (and I wish to thank everyone who visited, followed my Tweets and Facebook updates, or found this by way of Google), I continued my whirlwind quote-unquote farewell tour of the Show-Me State, saying farewell to my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the 16+ cats among everyone in the family I visited. Also enjoyed listening to quality locally produced radio programs like those all over Moberly's KRES and KWIX, plus KFRU's Morning Meeting hosted by Simon Rose and Renee Hulshof.

I am now back in KCMO, and this time next week I will be falling asleep in the United Kingdom for my first night as a Missouri expatriate. Er, The Missouri Expatriate. And my arrival in the UK could not come at a more exciting time politics wise.

Right now, it is safe to speculate that the 646 people most hated by United Kingdom residents are not Fred Phelps, Michael Savage, or other people the U.K. Home Office won't let enter the UK. Right now, it's Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary whose husband's sordid spending ways were outed in February, and the other 645 members of the House of Commons caught up in the expenses scandal. And the heads are starting to roll.

Today, Michael Martin announced that on 21 June, he will leave his post as Speaker of the House and subsequently make his way to the Chiltern Hundreds as its new Crown Steward, provided other potentially disgraced MPs don't beat him there and he winds up at the Manor of Northstead. Martin becomes the first speaker in 314 years to effectively be forced out of the position, and pundits are already declaring that Martin has secured a place among the greatest follies of Parliament's long history.

Therefore, on 22 June, the House of Commons will select from its remaining 639 active participants (which does not include the to-be-vacated Glasgow East seat held by Martin or the five Sinn Fein members who still billed UK taxpayers $750,000 despite not ever taking their seats!) a new speaker. This will be the first use of a new formalized voting system (BBC's description here) in lieu of the simpler yet dirtier "smoke-filled room" motion a name, amend in a different name, ayes have it, etc. system. Potential candidates for Speaker must have the backing of 12 MPs, three of whom must be from a party not that of the candidate. Upon certification of the nominations, the candidates are given a chance to speak, and then begins an exhaustive ballot, similar to how Olympic hosts are selected (and how Presidential candidates are suppose to be nominated, but the major parties have turned that process into a PR spectacle.) Once a candidate has a majority begins the dragging and the jovial crowning of the new Speaker.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is doing his darndest to save face in the wake of the U.S. Congress' approval ratings potentially being higher than Parliament's (apples and oranges, but it's worth the analogy) has stated that any Labour MP found to have made excessive expense claims will not be allowed to stand as Labour candidates at the next election, (Telegraph article) which is to happen in June 2010 at the latest. (Given that MEP & local elections are 16 days away, this novice observer anticipates a dissolution of Parliament over the summer and a lot of turnover when the new Parliament takes shape. Even with sweeping new restrictions in place like no swapping second homes and a limit of £1250 a month (thus £15000 annually), the voting public will likely not settle for less than a clean sweep and fast.) Prime the harbour, it's time to dump some tea. Or coffee. Or Throwback Pepsi-Cola?

You might find yourself going after all three when you're done viewing this Telegraph slideshow of Tory expenses for their country second homes. Among the more dubious claims: moat cleaning, lawncare around the helipad, and something involving horse excrement.

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Also, I would be remiss if I failed to make mention of the scheduled execution tonight (er, tomorrow at 12:01 a.m.) of Dennis Skillicorn, the first execution in Missouri in almost four years. Two more executions have been scheduled.

Thus, mention has been made.

This is what happens when you spend taxpayer funds wrong

Before I finish that thought, first of all my thoughts and prayers are with the residents of Northeast Missouri affected by this afternoon's tornadic activity. One fatality has been reported in Milan, about 35 miles west of Kirksville. The tornado's damage was north of downtown Kirksville and the Truman State University campus.

Now, returning to the bulk of tonight's post, which begins my effort to put a Midwestern perspective on British and European issues.

"What happens when you spend taxpayer funds wrong?" You get your own party members pushing for your recall. The first in 300 years, from the looks of things.

For the past week, The Daily Telegraph has published lists of expense reports filed by members of the British Parliament. Starting last Thursday, a list of expenses acquired through Britain's Freedom of Information Act has embarrassed several MPs on both sets of benches regarding their use of second home expense allowances. (Figures listed with be in British Pounds; current exchange rate is approximately US$1.53 = GB£1.) Most notably is Michael Martin, technically a non-partisan official but previously affiliated with the Labor Party prior to his selection as Speaker of the House of Commons. According to Telegraph's ongoing reports, Martin spent £1400 on chauffeur service around his constituency, including to football matches, and another £3300 on refurbishing his Glasgow flat, mostly on carpeting.

On top of that, the Telegraph (whose editorial board does lean Conservative; however Tory expenses are also under scrutiny in these reports) says that Martin has for the past four years spent £100k to attempt to keep these expense reports from going public. Even after these efforts went in favor of the taxpayer, Commons leadership delayed further on their release, originally told to release it by October of last year but instead announcing they would release it this July. Well, it's out now, and it's not looking pretty.

Among the Telegraph's most startling & high-profile finds:

• The five Sinn Fein members of Parliament, all of whom refuse to take their seats as it would require them to pledge an oath to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and subsequently acknowledge British sovereignty over Northern Ireland, together claimed expenses of over £500,000.
• Several MPs, including then-PM Tony Blair, used allowances from the expenses to refurbish and make profits from selling or re-mortgaging real-estate. In the former PM's case, Blair remortgaged his Sedgefield home for £296,000, then used his expense allowance to pay interest on that and another mortgage for one of five flats he owned in London.
• Current PM Gordon Brown conducted a house-swap upon his elevation to 10 Downing Street, purchasing a home in his constituency, then placing a gardener and cleaner, as well as extensive remodeling, on the public's bill.
• Many other MPs, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, used taxpayer money to pay their taxes. A Conservative shadow cabinet member, Nick Herbert, also has used his allowance to pay taxes and on part of a mortgage on a house in West Sussex he owns with his partner Jason Eades.
  
• Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who is vocally supportive of the movement to oust Martin over his expenses, claimed the maximum allowed, and one month went overboard. His predecessor Sir Menzies Campbell hired an interior designer to refurbish his London flat for about £10,000.
• David Willets, the Conservative's choice for skills minister, needed help changing light bulbs and had taxpayers foot the bill for that lesson.
  

If anything like this came out from a state government, plenty of fur would be flying. In short, this looks like Bob Griffin & Bill Webster on steroids, and no sneaking in village laws or midwife legalization clauses are going to save the day.

Fortunately, with local elections coming up in a month, several MPs (including Campbell) have announced they are reimbursing the fund for their various claims. Sure some of them are acceptable like basic transportation or rent, but having taxpayers foot the bill for items like new carpets, flat-screen TVs, chauffeurs, and real estate speculation, in a time when people need to reprioritize their spending to weather a significant recession, speaks volumes about the lack of discretion several elected officials have when it comes to appropriate tax funds.

It's probably not appropriate for a future resident to make opinionated comments on this, especially as said government's home office has granted a visa for the next six months, but as I am aiming to be a future resident (and thusly a tax payer), I am curious as to how current UK taxpayers are going to respond to this situation. TEA parties (all caps) were all the rage last month in the States; might they take root in the form of a 4 June statement from the electorate when it comes to local & EU parliamentary results?