EPPING FOREST: MP Laing pays back £25k (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)
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EPPING FOREST: MP Laing pays back £25k
3:49pm Tuesday 13th October 2009 in
EPPING Forest MP Eleanor Laing has today paid back £25,000 in expenses to the taxpayer after a storm of criticism over her claims - but still maintains she has done nothing wrong.
Ms Laing made the announcement to the Guardian this afternoon as she faces a vote of confidence by local members of her own party later this month.
The MP, who is also shadow justice minister, originally pledged to pay the cash back four months ago, but said she had been waiting for the outcome of a review by Sir Thomas Legg.
Many MPs have been sent letters by Sir Legg demanding more information or that they pay back some claims, but Ms Laing has been told she need not do either.
Ms Laing said: "As I said at the time, I offered to pay back £25,000 because the most important thing is my integrity.
"I am very pleased that Sir Thomas Legg has clearly stated that I have done nothing wrong."
Ms Laing has been heavily criticised for avoiding in £180,000 capital gains tax by telling the tax office that her secondary home in London was her primary residence.
She sold her Westminster flats in 2008 for £1.8m - after purchasing them in 1993 for around £300,000.
Ms Laing said she was aware of public anger, but was pleased at the "number of expressions of support" she had received from constituents.
She added: "I recognise the public anger about the whole issue and people are entitled to express their views."
Ms Laing has been formally adopted as the Conservative Party's candidate for the seat in the next election, but this position could be plunged into doubt if she loses the vote of confidence.
She said she "welcomes" the meeting as it will give her an opportunity to speak to party members and "set the record straight."
The vote will be held on Monday October 26 at Roding Valley High School in Loughton.
Comments(20)
Morris Hickey
says...
4:01pm Tue 13 Oct 09
Debdenite
says...
4:02pm Tue 13 Oct 09
Debdenite
says...
4:27pm Tue 13 Oct 09
n.com/petitions/sack
-eleanor-laing.html
inézc
says...
5:18pm Tue 13 Oct 09
WW22
says...
6:00pm Tue 13 Oct 09
WW22
says...
6:06pm Tue 13 Oct 09
Debdenite
says...
6:15pm Tue 13 Oct 09
WW22 wrote:Did you know that she rebelled against her party and voted to prevent a change in the expenses system in 2008, which could have made it more transparent and accountable? She wanted to maintain a rotten system. See: http://www.publicwhi
I think we should perhaps put the actions of our MP into some context. It was an independent audit of expenses in which she was cleared of any wrongdoing according to the wrotten system which was operating at the time. 500 MPs have not been given such wholehearted clearance. Given this, I suppose we should see a voluntary repayment as a positive step of an MP showing some contrition and recognizing the scale of public anger over what was an appalling system.
p.org.uk/division.ph
p?date=2008-07-03&nu
mber=253&mpn=Eleanor
_Laing&mpc=Epping_Fo
rest&house=commons
(The link will be broken up, but highlight, copy and paste it into your browser.)
Laing continues to refuse to explain why she voted against a measure that called for a "rigorous internal system of audit", maybe because she knew the outrage disclosure of her expenses would create among her constituents! She refuses to answer any constituents' letters on the matter of her expenses, she has refused any opportunity to explain herself to a public meeting, she has refused to apologise for her actions and acknowledge that she was wrong. This is not contrition, it is a PR stunt by a desperate lawyer-turned-politi
cian.
If Laing and a few other Conservative rebels had not sided with the Labour Party, this situation could have been resolved by parliament. Now Laing says she's got a grievance! She's pretending to be a victim and, in an effort to tug at our heart strings, has called for her £25,000 repayment to be donated to Barnados! To use a homeless children's charity to assuage your sins such a cynical ploy, it beggars belief.
Morris Hickey
says...
6:29pm Tue 13 Oct 09
WW22 wrote:She may have been "cleared" in respect of allowances but, like Hazel Blears (another lawyer), she has "flipped" her principal residence and second home. It appears that Laing may have done this to avoid CGT over a sale with a very large notional profit. If what we read is correct, then her "voluntary" payment of £25k (which seems to have taken 4 months to write the cheque) is but a modest first contribution towards the alleged liability of £180k. She isn't contrite at all. Like Blears and Smith, she's getting away with it. I'm just thankful that only the boundary along my back garden fence prevents her from being my MP.
I think we should perhaps put the actions of our MP into some context. It was an independent audit of expenses in which she was cleared of any wrongdoing according to the wrotten system which was operating at the time. 500 MPs have not been given such wholehearted clearance. Given this, I suppose we should see a voluntary repayment as at least a vaguely positive sign of an MP showing some contrition and recognizing the scale of public anger over what was an appalling system.
Dave26
says...
6:34pm Tue 13 Oct 09
What integrity?
girlfromessex
says...
11:36pm Tue 13 Oct 09
Irrespective of the system in place at the time, she did not have to buy an additional home, she could have repaid the profit or given it to charity. No, she has kept most of it, and probably feels it is her right to do so.
She ends by saying that MPs "have to work very hard to win back the confidence of the people we represent."
Many MPs will not have to work very hard because they did not exploit the system, even though it was open and legal for them to do so. They remembered they were public servants. Ms Laing just sees the job as a way of making a very good living.
The final insult is her tag line: Eleanor Laing MP Working For You.
Oh dear, she really does need a reality check, but I doubt that the good people of Epping Forest will give her one.
Debdenite
says...
10:51am Wed 14 Oct 09
Ha ha ha! Ask her why she consistently voted against any change to the expenses system. She won't answer, but it's worthwhile asking. I can't believe her cheek.
Debdenite
says...
11:05am Wed 14 Oct 09
It's all here, if you want to look at it: http://www.theyworkf
oryou.com/mp/eleanor
_laing/epping_forest
It includes her voting record, which shows that she "Voted moderately against a transparent Parliament". She obviously had something to hide.
By the way, the "Westminster Report" she sent you - a piece of propaganda designed to save her reputation - is paid for under her allowances. Yes, we're funding her to attempt to save her reputation, but other parties have to find the money themselves to post the truth about this lawyer-politician. I think all local political parties should get together and print a non-party political leaflet stating the truth about Eleanor Laing's atrocious record. People should know how she has dodged all questions relating to her exploitation of the expenses system.
Debdenite
says...
11:16am Wed 14 Oct 09
It's all here, if you want to look at it: http://www.theyworkf
oryou.com/mp/eleanor
_laing/epping_forest
It includes her voting record, which shows that she "Voted moderately against a transparent Parliament". She obviously had something to hide.
By the way, the "Westminster Report" she sent you - a piece of propaganda designed to save her reputation - is paid for under her allowances. Yes, we're funding her to attempt to save her reputation, but other parties have to find the money themselves to post the truth about this lawyer-politician. I think all local political parties should get together and print a non-party political leaflet stating the truth about Eleanor Laing's atrocious record. People should know how she has dodged all questions relating to her exploitation of the expenses system.
Ralf G
says...
5:58pm Wed 14 Oct 09
What makes me angry is the assumption that we are all stupid.
Chiggersboy
says...
7:33pm Thu 15 Oct 09
This story was in The Times today: http://www.timesonli
ne.co.uk/tol/news/po
litics/article687527
0.ece
She didn't claim for moats, or duck houses. It's the system which is/was broken not the person following them!
Morris Hickey
says...
8:54pm Thu 15 Oct 09
Chiggersboy wrote:Another phoney.
Personally i think people are missing the point here as i know that I for one wouldn't pay Capital Gains Tax on something just for the sake of it. She seems to have done what was asked of her and will have to pay a load of tax when she sells her place in Theydon Bois. This story was in The Times today: http://www.timesonli ne.co.uk/tol/news/po litics/article687527 0.ece She didn't claim for moats, or duck houses. It's the system which is/was broken not the person following them!
TheydonBoisResident
says...
10:25pm Thu 15 Oct 09
Chiggersboy
says...
10:46pm Thu 15 Oct 09
Morris Hickey wrote:Do you voluntarily pay extra tax then? I know that i pay as little as i can within the rules! Not a phoney, just sensible, who obviously has a different thinking to you!
Chiggersboy wrote:Another phoney.
Personally i think people are missing the point here as i know that I for one wouldn't pay Capital Gains Tax on something just for the sake of it. She seems to have done what was asked of her and will have to pay a load of tax when she sells her place in Theydon Bois. This story was in The Times today: http://www.timesonli ne.co.uk/tol/news/po litics/article687527 0.ece She didn't claim for moats, or duck houses. It's the system which is/was broken not the person following them!
Debdenite
says...
9:59am Fri 16 Oct 09
Chiggersboy wrote:The following issues have not been address by Laing:
Personally i think people are missing the point here as i know that I for one wouldn't pay Capital Gains Tax on something just for the sake of it. She seems to have done what was asked of her and will have to pay a load of tax when she sells her place in Theydon Bois.
This story was in The Times today: http://www.timesonli
ne.co.uk/tol/news/po
litics/article687527
0.ece
She didn't claim for moats, or duck houses. It's the system which is/was broken not the person following them!
1. She declared this as her second home for the purposes of the additional costs allowance, but then declared it as her primary residence when selling it. If it was not her second home, she did not deserve the tens of thousands of pounds spent on it by the tax-payer.
2. The additional costs allowance enabled her to pay a mortgage on a home she bought cheaply and sold at a profit of 300% - the expenses system paid for her to indulge in property speculation.
3. Her receipts neatly added up to just £1 under the maximum for the additional costs allowance, enabling her to drop from 1st to joint 144th place in terms of ACA claims. Yes, 143 other MPs did the same thing, suggesting that she and just under a quarter of the members of parliament conspired in this deceit to fool the public.
4. Why did she need a second home in London anyway when she is within easy commuting distance of Westminster? You can see Canary Wharf clearly from Epping Forest, the centre of London is that close. Is she too lazy to get up in the morning?
All of this may be "within the rules" and may have been approved by the House of Commons authorities, but those rules were created by Eleanor Laing and her colleagues. Moreover, Eleanor Laing actively prevented any change in these rules to enable more accountability. It was an immoral system perpetuated by MPs like Laing. I'm afraid £25,000 repayment of ACA misses the point entirely and demonstrates how out of touch she is. She has not recognised that the system is wrong or apologised for her part in the situation. She merely acknowledges we are angry, although she refuses to respond to constituents' letters on the issue or hold a meeting with constituents.
There are people in her constituency, particularly on the Debden estate in Loughton, who have been on the council housing waiting list for years. There are young families crammed into unsuitable accommodation who cannot afford to buy property. They are paying taxes to fund Eleanor Laing to make massive, tax-free profits on a second home. I am self-employed and there's no way Inland Revenue would allow me to behave like this. It is thoroughly immoral. In my opinion, MPs should live on the average wage of their constituents and any costs should be related to their work and of no personal financial benefit to them. If Eleanor Laing really wants to correct what most people regard as a wrongdoing, she should allow an independent audit of her expenses since 1997 to work out how much profit she personally made above and beyond her living expenses and then repay that allowance. I would bet that it would be far, far more than the £25,000 she has offered to repay, in order to save herself from deselection and keep in Cameron's good books.
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Eleanor Laing MP has been heavily criticised over her expenses claims.
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Katie Rolt says...
3:54pm Tue 13 Oct 09