Britain's got talent......

Yes, there's no doubt about it, Britain's certainly got talent. Although the weird Scottish one with the bushy eyebrows is probably bottom of voters Gallup polls at the moment with the European and local council elections looming this week we're all expecting a massive backlash after the MP's expenses row. In fact Labour are trailing the polls at an all time low.

We have all seen the undoubted talent of David Cameron to jump on a bandwagon and its only surprising he hasn't done it whilst juggling flaming batons and silmultanously riding his eco-friendly unicycle.

Nick Clegg has got his tuppence worth in as well but hasn't mentioned his talent for bedding young women in his liberal student daze and adding notches to his bed post.

Of course the minor parties have also got in on the act with their pathetic Party Political broadcasts filmed on a flip video in some dark corner of a dodgy housing estate, with crumpled crosses of St George fluttering in the barbeque smoke.

However, its never over untill the fat lady sings and with house prices showing some positive signs, shares on the up, inventories at an all time low and the price of oil creeping up once more we might avoid the shrill tones of the wee Scottish lassie until after the next General Election.

At whose expense..??????

No matter which way you cut it, the row over MP's expenses stinks. These people have been elected to office to represent the people and all the indications are that they have been manipulating the system for their own benefit and greed. "Greed is good" you might argue like Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street but the difference is these people actually MAKE THE RULES and lecture the rest of us about obeying the law and paying our taxes. How can society function properly when the very people who should be showing leadership are grabbing all they can. MP's have consistently opposed transparency until they were forced to do so under the Freedom of Information Act, under pressure from campaign groups and concerned individuals.

There is an old saying that, in a democracy you get the politicians you deserve. Now that we know what they've been up top there may be a few politicians looking for a new job following the next election.

However, there is another side to all this. The MP's salary was introduced to allow the poor to be elected. Previously only the rich could afford to be represented and we must never revert to that situation. What we need is:-

1) An independent commitee to establish a fair and reasonable salary for MP's comparable to the private and public sector.

2) A fixed annual expense allowance for travel and overnight stays.

3) No second homes allowance; if they need somewhere to stay in London on a regular basis then they can rent or stay in a hotel.

4) The creation of a fully equipped and serviced MP's hostel near Westminster.

5) Full transparency of MP's earnings and expenses.

In order to preserve our Democracy and restore the faith of the electorate we demand nothing less.