Dean Sas’s Weblog

MPs to conceal expenses

// January 18th, 2009 // p.u.c & p.u-uk.org

Parliament have just spent upwards of £500,000 preparing to release data on expenses claimed by MPs. The government (and the conservatives) have now decided that this data should not be available to the public, making MPs and Lords the only public officials in the country that don’t have to make this information available to the public upon request.

First the House of Commons and then the House of Lords will vote on this on Thursday, if passed it will become law nearly immediately.

Tom Steinburg of My Society (the people behind theyworkforyou.com and writetothem.com amongst others) has published this request for action

1. Please write to your MP about this www.WriteToThem.com – ask them to lobby against this concealment, and tell them that TheyWorkForYou will be permanently and prominently noting those MPs who took the opportunity to fight against this regressive move. The millions of constituents who will check this site before the next election will doutbtless be interested.

2. Join this facebook group and invite all your least political friends (plus your most political too). Send them personal mails, phone or text them. Encourage them to write to their politicians too.

3. Write to your local paper to tell them you’re angry, and ask them to ask their readers to do the above. mySociety’s never-finished site http://news.mysociety.org might be able to help you here.