The Conservative challenger who will take on Charles Clarke at the next election has rounded on the Norwich South MP for claiming £152,948 in Parliamentary allowances.
Antony Little, who is also a city councillor, accused Mr Clarke of being an extravagant MP and said he was outraged to learn how much money he was claiming from the taxpayer whilst the UK was deep in recession.
The figures were released today by the House of Commons and cover the 2007/08 Parliamentary session.
Cllr Little said: “Charles Clarke is the twenty first most expensive MP in the UK out of 646. At £152,948 he’s not that far from the most expensive MP, Labour’s Ann Keen who claimed £167,306. LibDem Norman Lamb claimed £155,937. By stark contrast the cheapest MP at just £40,433 was the Conservative Philip Hollobone.
“Statistics like this only fuel the perception that politicians are in it for themselves. It is time that the Parliamentary allowances system is reformed to end this outrageous use of taxpayers’ money.”
Are you going to expand on HOW you think expenses should be reformed?
If not there is a danger of this kind of thing coming across as vacuous populism, if you don’t mind me saying so.