Headlines aren't whole story
THE national newspapers are full of lurid headlines and stories about MPs' expenses – much of which is justified; a great deal of which however is misrepresentation of the work many of us do.
I am a constituency-focused MP and I take representing the people of Batley and Spen very seriously. I am not in it for the money, nor the fame nor as a stepladder to high office. I am here to do a job of work for local people.
My Cleckheaton office is one of the busiest and most successful MP's offices in the country and I am very proud of the work done by the six staff I employ here. By being based in Batley and Spen rather than in London they can be more responsive and contribute to the local economy. All my work and resources are focused on local people and on this constituency; this commitment was a central theme of each of my re-election campaigns.
I have been re-elected twice with increased support from local people and the demands that are placed on my office continues to rise. In an ideal world I would be able to employ more staff to meet these demands and the requests people in Batley and Spen quite rightly make of me. But it is the House of Commons 'expenses' that pay for all this. Of course they aren't expenses, they are running costs, which is a far more accurate description. There may well be MPs who are improperly converting these running costs in to salary top-ups, but I am not one of them.
Without these running costs we should revert to the situation where only people of private means could take on the job of MP. This is something the national newspaper headlines don't tell you and would turn the clock back 100 years.
The running costs also pay towards an office and a flat in London and for me getting there for the four days a week I am expected in Parliament. It's not possible to commute there and back each day. So, like other MPs who aren't based in the capital, without this I should not be able to do the job. We can't have a situation where only those who live full-time in London can be elected to Parliament.
It is a fact of life that groups of people get tarred with the same brush due a small minority who break the rules but the current situation is clearly unacceptable and House of Commons rules must change to stop the abuses.
However, there must be a mechanism that allows me and my team to work for this area and provide the service we do, which is clearly needed and expected.
Batley MP Mike Wood
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Weather for Batley
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
