Like Bagehot I think this one of most entertaining – and revealing – reactions to the revelations of the Great Expenses Swindle of 2009:
The latest batch of expenses details revealed by the Telegraph included the fact that Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson had made a claim of £304.10 for the upkeep of a swimming pool.
In response he said: “The pool came with the house and I needed to know how to run it. Once I was shown that one time, there were no more claims. I take care of the pool myself. I believe this represents ‘value for money’ for the taxpayer.” Priceless, if you know what I mean. Imagine poor Mr Jackson’s shock on discovering that the house he’d bought came with a swimming pool and that, regrettably, the cost of its upkeep would naturally be wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the performance of his parliamentary duties.
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