In a speech to the Commons today, Conservative Southend West MP David Amess called for change within the House to revamp the expenses system and the second homes allowance.
Mr Amess told the House of his disappointment at the situation in Parliament since the expenses scandal broke:
“Before my party leader called for an election, I felt that the paralysis that we in Parliament are suffering from was simply not tenable.
“I cannot conceive of how the House can limp along—with little or no business at all and Members, for whatever reason, feeling more and more disillusioned and stressed—until April next year.
“Without being political, I should say that the country needs to be governed and the House needs to address very serious issues at the moment.
“For all sorts of reasons, I doubt whether Members can concentrate their minds fully on those issues. That is why we need a fresh mandate.
“Furthermore, given Mr. Speaker’s decision to stand down, it is right that a new Parliament, with some new Members, should elect a new Speaker.”
Mr Amess went on to explain the reasons for the second homes allowance, and how he believes that this should have been changed with MPs’ working hours:
“I want to say something about expenses,” he began.
“When I was first elected to the House in 1983, it sat for five days a week; we were always here on Fridays.
“The first Bill on which I sat in Committee was the Rates Bill. Members may be appalled or they may laugh, but one of our sittings lasted 48 hours.
“It is always fine to be wise in hindsight, but the time to change the arrangements on second homes was probably when the House changed the hours that we sit and how we work.
“In those early days, I represented Basildon, which was even nearer this place than Southend, West, but I could not get home to my constituency at 3, 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning.
“In hindsight, I wish that I and others had spoken up when we decided to change our working hours and that we had dealt with the issue then.
“It is a sorry state of affairs, and I cannot see how we can continue in this way until April next year.”
