A Citizens’ Convention on MP Expenses
by Celia Hannon
The expenses saga continues apace at Parliament today with Martin Linton MP calling on the Prime Minister to convene a Citizens’ Convention. Gordon Brown did not bite. But not to worry, Demos is already on the case. As part of the Citizenship Programme we’ll be working with a polling organisation and a media partner to run a Citizens’ Convention; debating and proposing new measures on MPs expenses. Everyone can agree that the days of MPs setting their own pay and conditions are over – isn’t it the turn of the people to decide what counts as ‘reasonable’ expenditure when serving the country?
We will be submitting the results of the public deliberation to the Committee on Standards in Public Life as part of their inquiry. In the meantime we'd love to hear your suggestions for ideas that the Convention should consider.