Cheltenham MP speaks out about expenses scandle

Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham speaks out about expenses scandals, and brands the MPs at fault as crooks.

Martin Horwood, has constantly pushed for change within parliament and claims MPs should not be allowed to vote changes to the expenses system.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, pushed for Sir Christopher Kelly to investigate the scandals surrounding expenses claims and publish his findings as an independent advisor being funded by the Cabinet Office.

Many of the MPs who have been caught out during Kelly’s investigation into expenses claimed the rules were not explained to them. Douglas Hogg, who claimed for “moat clearing” said: “Nobody told me I was doing the wrong thing.”

When a student from the University of Gloucestershire asked Martin Horwood if any of the MPs in his constituency were involved in the expenses scandal he explained: “My colleagues were trying to follow the rules as they saw them.”

Questioned on what he would like to be done about the MPs caught with deceitful expenses, Horwood declared: “These people are crooks, they should have stepped down.”

Horwood fully supported Kelly’s investigation and is calling for subsidies for private homes to be banned, and is pushing for all parliamentary expenses to be handled by a new independent authority.

When asked what he thought of the MPs who have famously cheated the system claiming for duck ponds and on multiple homes he declared: “There have been no precautions and these people still have their jobs.”

Martin Horwood openly publishes his expenses on his website and urges for a recall in the system meaning details of MPs claims would not be kept secret.

Horwood also discussed his feelings towards pulling troops out of Iraq and the Liberal Democrats policy on eradicating tuition fees, which has been a largely successful scheme in Scotland.