EXPENSES FEAR
A LEADING Tameside Councillor fears he and his colleagues are being unfairly ‘tainted’ by the MP expenses row.
Cllr John Taylor, Cabinet member for Co-ordination Services, has been challenged by residents angry over the political controversy.
But he insists the vast majority of councillors have nothing to hide and has urged MPs to clean up their act.
The Dukinfield Cllr told the Reporter: “I’ve been asked by members of the public: how much do I get? We are getting tainted with it.”
Councillors are given allowances to meet basic costs such as phone bills and travel carried out for council business.
The allowances claimed by each member of the council are then printed annually.
He adds: “The allowances are printed in the paper each year so everyone can see what we get. It is transparent.”
Councillors’ actions – in terms of expenses and behaviour in public – are overseen by the Standards Board of England.
Cllr Taylor says under-fire politicians who penned the rules governing councillors should now ensure they follow the guidelines they have set down.
Cllr Taylor continued: “Had I done what a large proportion of MPs have done I would’ve been brought before the Standards Board and most likely suspended.
“The MPs must read the rules they have produced for how councillors should act and make sure they follow them.”
He added: “They should give themselves a dose of what we have had.
“In general, councillors show a lot of honesty.”
The long-serving councillor feels public disillusionment with parliament could lead to a rise in Independents gaining seats at the next election.
But he is keen for a public increasingly cynical over the actions of their representatives in Westminster to keep the faith with the men and women he says are still putting residents first.
