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SOUTHPORT TORIES IN SLEAZE SCANDAL
2 Conservative
MEPs representing Southport in the European Parliament have been
condemned by a national newspaper for the use of their expenses.
The News of the World on the 11 May 2008 revealed that David Sumberg had
paid his wife more than £95,000 in some years for "secretarial
assistance", despite the fact that he has made only 2 speeches
in the European Parliament since 2004. And in circumstances
similar to those of the Conway affair in the House of Commons, Sir
Robert Atkins was revealed as having paid both his wife and his son
more than £2,500 a month EACH!
Now local Liberal Democrat MEP is demanding to know what Tory leader
David Cameron is doing to clean up his party's act.
Chris Davies blew the whistle on attempts in the European Parliament
to cover up reports into the abuse of expenses. He has led the
campaign for wholesale reform and complete openness by all MEPs.
He says the shocking revelations suggest that the Conservative
commitment to reform is skin deep.
Chris Davies said:-
"This looks like another case of sleaze, sleaze, sleaze, and
it is bad for the reputation of everyone in politics. The people of
Southport deserve better from their representatives. MEPs in
all parties must set the same standards of financial probity that
they would demand of every other public institution in Europe. They
must never forget that they are spending taxpayers' money.
I doubt if anyone locally has ever heard of David Sumberg. He lives
in London but he is 1 of the 3 Tory representatives for Southport in
the European Parliament. The newspaper dubs him "Britain's laziest MEP", and it is a matter of public record that he has made only 2
speeches in the past 4 years. He is David Cameron's man in
Brussels, and we should be told just exactly what is he doing for
the money he gets."
The entire North West region is represented by 9 MEPs:-
3
Conservative, 3 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat, and 1 UKIP.
Details of the pay and expenses available to MEPs can be found on
the
website maintained by Chris Davies. |
Accident victims risk health to return to work over money fears
ACCIDENT
victims are returning to work before they are fully recovered
because they are scared taking time off could plunge them into debt.
Rather than concentrating on recuperation, more than half of people
injured in an accident will cut short their rehabilitation because
they can’t afford to lose wages, according to a survey by National
Accident Helpline.
As the cost of essentials like bread, milk and petrol soar, 55% of
respondents are so worried they will struggle to make ends meet that
they will go back to work early, despite fearing it could damage
their health. Even more – 67%, admit that since their
accident their finances have come under increased pressure,
exacerbated by the ongoing effects of the ‘credit crunch’.
National Accident Helpline Legal Director John Campbell said:-
“It is worrying that people are potentially putting their health
at risk because they are bearing the brunt of financial pressures
for which they aren’t responsible.
We would advise anyone who is the victim of an accident and finds
themselves in this position to explore the options open to them.
They could find that they are entitled to some form of compensation,
which would ease their financial worries and allow them to
concentrate on the most important thing – getting better.”
Sadly for employers, this compensation
culture that is now gripping the UK is now having huge knock-on
effects, as more businesses are closing at they just can not afford
to stay open. One of the many problems facing small businesses
is the costs of insurance premiums. Also the worry that
as the more climes are made against businesses, the more jobs are
lost as a result, to pay for the insurance increases. One of
the many ideas suggested is that small businesses are allowed to
have better help and cash support to help prevent accidents.
Also another idea the would help, would be to allow a sensible
system of blame. If water is boiling in a kettle, a
business should not need to say that the kettle has hot water in it! |
