Labour & Tories unite to defend perks

12.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 6th Jul 2008

Graham Oakes, Lib Dem PPC for Exeter has reacted angrily to Labour & Tory M.P.s blocking auditing of their expenses.

"Anyone who claims expenses has to produce receipts or evidence to validate their claim but the Con/Lab pact prevented M.P.s from having to justify how the spend our money."

148 Labour MPs, 21 Conservative MPs and U.K.I.P.'s only MP united to vote down the proposal for an independent audit of all MPs expenses claims.

No Liberal Democrat MP voted against the audit plans.

"This decision by MPs is clearly foolish and wrong. Politicians already do not enjoy a good reputation with rarely a week passing without a story in the press about MPs apparently fiddling their finances. Whilst I believe the vast majority of M.P.s are not corrupt, this is a golden opportunity missed to bring some transparency to Westminster."

"For those of us who believe in cleaning up our politics and improving Parliament" reputation this is a disaster. The House of Commons had the chance to vote for proper auditing of everything MPs do with public money, but an unholy coalition of Labour and Conservative MPs prevented it.

"As long as M.P.s resist having their expenses and allowances subject to robust, external audit, the public can be forgiven for wondering what they have got to hide."