10:10: Kelly states that support for mortage interest should cease, reimbursement should be for rent only, or in special cases hotels, up to £120/night. From today, there will be no more capital gains at the public’s expense and no more flipping; those with mortgages currently will hold them for the next parliament and then the practice will cease. Gardening, cleaning and furniture expenses, which were very contentious will no longer be funded by the taxpayer. Kelly insists that this represents a better deal for taxpayers, which seems self-evident, and is consistent with his decision that expenses should reflect the experience and rights of constituents, in other words that MPs are not above the law or ‘special’ in any way.
Rentals might be more expensive than mortgage interest, but that’s a moot point considering the unfairness of acquiring private assets at public expense.
10:15: The right of 54 MPs to claim 2nd home allowance living within commuting distance of London, again on the grounds that that is what their constituents do.
10:17: The practice of employing family members, though not inherently bad in every case, is incompatible with the terms of a modern democracy and should stop.
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