Going on holiday

Blogging which has already been light (sorry about that) will now be slim-to-non-existent for a week.

I'm sure I'll have plenty to rant about on my return though.

Michael Jackson

You might have been a fucking freak in your later years, but you didn't half write some truly amazing music.

Personally I'd like to thank you for Thriller, which is, in my opinion, one of the best albums ever produced.

RIP.

Bllllleeeeeuuuuggggghhh

Thanks (I think) to the BCC employee who emailed this simpering note off the BCC Intranet. It apparently comes from a column where Jan posts musings to her minions. I think I feel sick.

Messages from the Chief Executive

(updated 23 June 2009)

Have you seen the news? What a coup for Bristol.
The City Museum & Art Gallery is currently taking centre stage in the art world with the ground-breaking Banksy show.

Love him or loathe him, there’s no getting away from Banksy in Bristol at the moment.

What does the show mean for the city and the council?
We’re already looking at extra temporary staff over the summer to cope with record numbers of visitors to the museum.

The show is also proving to be a real boost to Bristol’s economy - helping to pack local cafes, restaurants, bars and hotels.

Thanks must go to the staff at the museum who have worked hard behind-the-scenes to bring this spectacular show to Bristol.

The show runs until Monday, August 31 and includes over 100 works, including 78 new pieces. The exhibition is free too, so make sure you get a chance to see the show.

Christ allmighty, where do I begin? The sheer hypocrisy is damning enough. BCC couldn't have seen Banksy as anything other than a complete pain in their arse in his early years, suddenly he's "famous" and "popular" and he's always been their best mate, don't you know? What a fucking load of hypocritical nonsense. Is this what Jan means by "marketing" the city?

And are "local cafes, restaurants, bars and hotels" really "packed" because of this show?

Please.

Expenses Analysis - Dawn Primarolo

ADDITIONAL COSTS ALLOWANCE

Damn it. I was hoping to find some juicy shit with Dawn's ACA since Kerry didn't have much other than her food allowance. But if Kerry was fairly clean, Dawn was squeaky. She's hardly EVER claimed for Food allowance on her ACA. Nothing else really of note.

ICIDENTAL EXPENSES PROVISION

Claiming for papers on your expenses is a little iffy, but all MPs seem to do it. Interesting that the redactors have sometimes blocked out "STREET" of "EAST STREET NEWS" on the reciepts (a newsagent in Bedminster) and sometimes not. What is the point?

Also, should the taxpayers REALLY foot the £120.00 bill for a copy of "Who's who" for you, Dawn? Why do you need it for your job?

Amusing to see Dawn locked herself out of her office on the 29th August 2006 :)

What was the blanked out payment on Page 22 on Dawn's 07-08 IEP? There is no reciept included for it.

COMMUNICATIONS ALLOWANCE

Only thing I wonder here is why she paid some staff members from the CA, and others from IEP? Maybe these ones were "promoting" her?

SUMMARY

Again - nothing exciting from the redacted versions. But the telegraph can reveal:

Dawn Primarolo The Childrens and Families Miniister claimed second home expenses for her constituency home in Bristol until 2004, when she FLIPPED her expense claims to her London flat.
Overnight her monthly claims for mortgage interest went up from £317 to £1,313. Having claimed a relatively modest £12,553 in 2003-04, Miss Primarolo's total claims under the Additional Costs Allowance rose sharply after the move, and by 2007-08 she was claiming the maximum permissible amount of £23, 083.
Miss Primarolo also claimed for council tax, utilities, a cleaner and for her TV licence

No surprise that the Parliamentary Authorities wanted to redact what they did.

Next, Let's go to Bishopston's middle-class favourite, Stephen Williams.

Expenses Analysis - Kerry McCarthy

ADDITIONAL COSTS ALLOWANCE

And the first shocker - well, not really a shocker. Kerry has claimed £400.00 exactly for food allowance in Jun 2005, Jul 2005, Jan 2006, Feb 2006, Mar 2006, Apr 2006, Jun 2006, Jul 2006, Oct 2006, Nov 2006, Dec 2006, Jan 2007, Feb 2007, Mar 2007, Apr 2007, May 2007 and Feb 2008. After May 2007 she gets a conscience, realising that she shouldn't really be claiming the full amount, just because she can - but still claims figures that seemingly were pulled from her arse. But for the many months that you did claim £400 for food, did you REALLY spend EXACTLY £400 EVERY MONTH on food solely relating to your parliamentary duties, Kerry?

I rather think you didn't. After all, I haven't met you in person but judging by your headshot you don't look as fat as Eric Pickles, and I would have thought anyone would be, spending that amount.

OR could it be that it's an expense that doesn't require a receipt? I wonder...

They also appear to have interesting redactions on Kerry's Aditional Cost Allowance for 05-06. Page 5 seems to show exactly the same as Page 7, except Page 7 has more blanked out - text which seems to relate to Kerry's mortgage payments, juding by the placement on the form. The text which was present on Page 5 but blanked out on Page 7 is:

Previously Paid £1357.32
PLEASE PAY £275.00

I'm not sure why they blank out the invoice for her furniture (£2690, thank you very much) when a quick Google search shows it's from Habitat. Would Kerry be shopping in Habitat if she wasn't an MP, or would it be Ikea?

In fairness though, she's only got a 17" (!!!???!!!) Television.

INCIDENTAL EXPENSES PROVISION

Getting the FT delivered every day, Monday to Saturday, for a year? Why can't you buy one on the way to work?

Also, why is the building rented, and money paid to, "Labour Party Properties"? Surely if they own the building, and you are a Labour MP, you should just be able to use it? Definitely some digging required for that organisation.

Also, paying the previous occupant of the office (Jean Corston) £1000 for all the furniture in there??!? Was she ever going to use it again? And since she'd paid for it with tax payer's money, why do you need to pay for it again, with tax payer's money?

Also, I'm no expert in handwriting, but this handwriting (which is representative of most of the claim forms)



doesn't look very simliar to this handwriting.



Surely you're not getting your staff to fill out your claims forms for you, are you Kerry?

SUMMARY

So yes - nothing really that terrible, apart from the food allowance which just seems to have been used by every MP as a fucking cash machine, as it didn't require reciepts. Dawn next.

Bristol MP's Expeses

There are 5 MPs in the Bristol Area:

Roger Berry (LAB)

Kerry McCarthy (LAB)

Doug Naysmith (LAB)

Dawn Primarolo (LAB)

Stephen Williams (LIB)

Over the next few days, I shall be going over each MP's expenses with a fine-toothed comb. What I can see anyway, with all the fucking "redactions".

I'll start with everyone's favourite...darling Kerry.

Veritable bargains at Bristol Ikea

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/store/bristol/offers