quote:

Originally posted by china:
thats that little manic smiley woman on a bike innit?

dont like her

bye hazel

quote:

Originally posted by Bigdaddyostrich:
Jacqui Smith, Beverley Hughes, Hazel Blears...

all the greats

quote:

Originally posted by Bigdaddyostrich:
Jacqui Smith, Beverley Hughes, Hazel Blears...

all the greats

quote:

Originally posted by Bigdaddyostrich:
Jacqui Smith, Beverley Hughes, Hazel Blears...

all the greats

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
she has hugely abused her position.

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
Great timing Another smug, self-serving cow bites the dust.

With that perma-grinning "I know best" face she has hugely abused her position. Predictably, now the shit has hit the fan, she bales out too......but the spiteful bitch has chosen exactly the right moment to cause maximum damage.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Brothers Big Scam:

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
she has hugely abused her position.

not according to her website, its all explained away

quote:

Originally posted by darloboy07:
Apparently she's glad to be going back home to the people of Salford , ooh she's holding a motorbike helmet, must like her bikes .

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:

quote:

Originally posted by Big Brothers Big Scam:

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
she has hugely abused her position.

not according to her website, its all explained away

Is she displaying her patronising rictus grin on that website?

quote:

Originally posted by Big Brothers Big Scam:

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:

quote:

Originally posted by Big Brothers Big Scam:

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
she has hugely abused her position.

not according to her website, its all explained away

Is she displaying her patronising rictus grin on that website?

if you mean this one


then yes.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Brothers Big Scam:

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:

quote:

Originally posted by Big Brothers Big Scam:

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
she has hugely abused her position.

not according to her website, its all explained away

Is she displaying her patronising rictus grin on that website?

if you mean this one


then yes.

quote:

Originally posted by The Devil In Diamante:

quote:

Originally posted by Big Brothers Big Scam:

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:

quote:

Originally posted by Big Brothers Big Scam:

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
she has hugely abused her position.

not according to her website, its all explained away

Is she displaying her patronising rictus grin on that website?

if you mean this one


then yes.

She has a face I wouldn't get fed up of slapping, smug cow!

quote:

Originally posted by china:
it makes me laugh when theyre all describing their 'cheat sheets' away claiming for a mortgage that doesnt exsist etc..-they use the phrase 'it was a mistake'

someone in the paper last week said 'a mistake' is when you forget to take your umberella with you and it starts raining!

not claiming thousands for your daughters house, mortgages, etc..

lying b@stards

they must all think we're daft

quote:

Following the recent press reports about my parliamentary allowances I want to set out the facts relating to the capital gains tax on my flat in London.

Throughout the time I have been privileged enough to be the MP for Salford, I have had my main home in the constituency and a small one-bedroom flat in London, so I have somewhere to stay while doing my job in Parliament.

When I became a minister in 2001, the Fees Office of the House of Commons insisted that all ministers had to designate their London home as their main residence so I was forced to switch and list Salford as my second home. This upset me. Salford comes first and foremost for me, I was born and grew up here and it’s where my heart is. So I fought this decision by the Fees Office. In 2004, they finally gave in and I was able to switch back to listing my Salford address as my main home and the flat in Kennington in London as a second home.

Coincidentally I also moved flats in London, from Kennington to Farringdon, a few months afterwards, meaning that my new flat was in effect a third address that I now had listed as a ‘second home’ in 2004. This is despite the fact that at no point had I had anything more than my house in Salford and a small flat in London.

When selling that Kennington flat, and also one in Shad Thames before I became a minister, I checked the rules for the Inland Revenue in terms of designating a property as your main home. I followed those rules as they meant there was not any liability for capital gains tax.

However, I know how angry the public currently are at what they feel are MPs abusing the allowances system. For me, the most important thing in the world is to be able to stand up for the people of Salford, especially those who might not otherwise have a voice. I have therefore been deeply upset at the accusations that I put my personal gain ahead of their interests. Having discussed it with my husband, I decided it is not enough to simply comply with the rules and be within the law. What matters is what people think and feel about the issue. I have therefore written a cheque to the Inland Revenue for the equivalent amount had I been liable for capital gains tax when I sold the flats.

I hope the public will understand that I, like all MPs, do need two places to stay as I work in London but will always live in Salford. The decisions I have taken reflect that.

I know people will still be angry, and the bottom line is that all MPs have a job to do to rebuild trust between the people and Parliament which will take time, and that is why I want to take these first steps to rebuild trust with the people of Salford.

Hazel Blears MP

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
I'm watching her now on Sky, in her biker-chick leathers, getting on that motorbike in yet another perma-grin photo op

Never have I wished for someone to fall off a bike more than I do now..........

quote:

Originally posted by Big Brothers Big Scam:

quote:

Originally posted by china:
it makes me laugh when theyre all describing their 'cheat sheets' away claiming for a mortgage that doesnt exsist etc..-they use the phrase 'it was a mistake'

someone in the paper last week said 'a mistake' is when you forget to take your umberella with you and it starts raining!

not claiming thousands for your daughters house, mortgages, etc..

lying b@stards

they must all think we're daft

well according to her she did nothing wrong, this is her statement at the time in full.

quote:

Following the recent press reports about my parliamentary allowances I want to set out the facts relating to the capital gains tax on my flat in London.

Throughout the time I have been privileged enough to be the MP for Salford, I have had my main home in the constituency and a small one-bedroom flat in London, so I have somewhere to stay while doing my job in Parliament.

When I became a minister in 2001, the Fees Office of the House of Commons insisted that all ministers had to designate their London home as their main residence so I was forced to switch and list Salford as my second home. This upset me. Salford comes first and foremost for me, I was born and grew up here and it’s where my heart is. So I fought this decision by the Fees Office. In 2004, they finally gave in and I was able to switch back to listing my Salford address as my main home and the flat in Kennington in London as a second home.

Coincidentally I also moved flats in London, from Kennington to Farringdon, a few months afterwards, meaning that my new flat was in effect a third address that I now had listed as a ‘second home’ in 2004. This is despite the fact that at no point had I had anything more than my house in Salford and a small flat in London.

When selling that Kennington flat, and also one in Shad Thames before I became a minister, I checked the rules for the Inland Revenue in terms of designating a property as your main home. I followed those rules as they meant there was not any liability for capital gains tax.

However, I know how angry the public currently are at what they feel are MPs abusing the allowances system. For me, the most important thing in the world is to be able to stand up for the people of Salford, especially those who might not otherwise have a voice. I have therefore been deeply upset at the accusations that I put my personal gain ahead of their interests. Having discussed it with my husband, I decided it is not enough to simply comply with the rules and be within the law. What matters is what people think and feel about the issue. I have therefore written a cheque to the Inland Revenue for the equivalent amount had I been liable for capital gains tax when I sold the flats.

I hope the public will understand that I, like all MPs, do need two places to stay as I work in London but will always live in Salford. The decisions I have taken reflect that.

I know people will still be angry, and the bottom line is that all MPs have a job to do to rebuild trust between the people and Parliament which will take time, and that is why I want to take these first steps to rebuild trust with the people of Salford.

Hazel Blears MP

quote:

Originally posted by Garage Joe:
One hopes that as well as changing the staff they might now change the philosophy back to something a little less right wing.

quote:

Originally posted by Bigdaddyostrich:
What a heap of sanctimonious, self-serving drivel.

"I didn't actually do anything wrong but am resigning as a step to rebuilding trust"

Wonder when the trickle will turn into a flood

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
So, basically, the deal is that Cabinet Ministers are allowed to fiddle, lie, mislead, cheat and steal. They can participate in a prolonged orgy of engorged trough-feeding.

Then, when the chips are truly down, they can just cheerfully bale out with media soundbites about "keeping dignity"........all with impunity.

Is that the deal?

quote:

Originally posted by Garage Joe:
One hopes that as well as changing the staff they might now change the philosophy back to something a little less right wing.

quote:

Originally posted by Garage Joe:
One hopes that as well as changing the staff they might now change the philosophy back to something a little less right wing.

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
... fiddle, lie, mislead, cheat and steal. They can participate in a prolonged orgy and engorged trough-feeding.

Then, when the chips are truly down, they can just cheerfully bale out with media soundbites about "keeping dignity"........all with impunity.

quote:

Originally posted by Bigdaddyostrich:

quote:

Originally posted by Garage Joe:
One hopes that as well as changing the staff they might now change the philosophy back to something a little less right wing.

This smacks of counter-revolutionary propaganda

quote:

Originally posted by Demantoid:
If anything, that statement only reinforces why she had to go.
Caught red-handed and STILL won't accept she did anything wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by The Secretary:

quote:

Originally posted by Deegs:
... fiddle, lie, mislead, cheat and steal. They can participate in a prolonged orgy and engorged trough-feeding.

Then, when the chips are truly down, they can just cheerfully bale out with media soundbites about "keeping dignity"........all with impunity.

You've just described me at a party.