My Pledge on Expenses

The Westminster expenses scandal raises a cloud of suspicion around all those who seek to represent their political parties.

As a measure of my intention to try and restore an element of trust between voters and political representatives, as a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate I would like to put on record the following five pledges which will govern my conduct if I am elected to Parliament.

1. As a parliamentary candidate I will subscribe to the highest standards of integrity, transparency, accountability and financial economy


2. I seek elected office not for personal gain but to serve the public and our democracy, which I consider an honour and a privilege


3. I will publish my expenses online within a month of submitting them and publicise them annually in full to my constituents


4. I will hold regular meetings with my community and will regularly report back to my constituency party


5. I will apply the principle of best value to all decisions I make which involve the use of public money to cover my duties, including for travel and accommodation.

A great many of our current Members of Parliament already embody these principles in their day-to-day conduct and their example should be recognised. We cannot return to a system where only those who are already independently wealthy can put themselves forward for election to Parliament, so necessary reforms to the system of MPs’ expenses and allowances should reflect the need for those representing constituencies outside Greater London - especially from areas like the Highlands - to claim for appropriate accommodation and travel expenses. In the absence, however, of a decision on the final form of the new system, these pledges will act as my guide if I have the honour of being elected to the House of Commons.

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MPs Expenses in the Real World

What sort of political world are we now living in when tonight's BBC 10pm news is led by 15 minutes of reporting of MP's expenses and only then by news about the potentially devastating loss of steelworkers' jobs on Teeside at Corus and the deaths of 4 of our soldiers in Afghanistan?

There is no point in trying to blame the media for this. We all know how they work. Quite simply, some Westminster MPs - and I hope it extends across all parties - have allowed their wanton and thoughtless use of an out of date expenses system to categorise all politicians as "in it for themselves". We need to change the system, but the damage has been done.

I am active in politics because I want to make a difference. I am a Labour Party member because I want to shape a world in which the vast majority of ordinary working people can enjoy prosperous, safe and satisfying lives based on Labour values of social justice and equality of opportunity. I have put myself forward to be an MP so I can have the opportunity to represent these ideals. To make sure that defending jobs in Teeside - and wherever else they are under threat - is how we get our headlines, not defending our personal lifestyles.

I know that the same values motivated all of my Labour parliamentary colleagues when they were elected. I despair at how the fee and expenses system in Westminster is now obscuring this. Tonight, in the midst of this recession, we should be talking about saving jobs in Teeside, or why we are in Afghanistan, not the personal spending of ministers.

The independent review by the Standards Commission is desperately needed. I hope it is radical. We need to get back to real politics.

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