Twenty nine peers claimed almost £750,000 in expenses without speaking a word in House of Lords

Twenty nine peers claimed almost £750,000 in expenses without speaking a word in House of Lords

The figures also show 64 'silent' Lords and Ladies claimed £1.2million in last 12 months of the Coalition

Camera Press
Earl of Rosslyn: Claimed £48,900  

Twenty-nine peers who did not speak in a single Lords debate during the last five-year Parliament bagged nearly £750,000 in expenses.
The figures, unearthed for the Daily Mirror by the Electoral Reform Society, also show that in the last 12 months of the Coalition, 64 silent Lords and Ladies claimed £1.2million.
Our findings will pile pressure on PM David Cameron to reform the scandal-hit upper chamber, which the Mirror is campaigning to have abolished.
The 29 peers who did not speak in the chamber include Margaret Thatcher’s former private secretary, crossbencher Lord Powell of ­Bayswater. He last spoke in November 2008 but claimed £67,200 in five years, including £8,300 in its last 12 months.

Lord Powell: Claimed £67,200  
Lord Powell said it was “certainly true I have not spoken in a debate in recent years”, but pointed to his work on various Lords’ committees.
He added: “I am satisfied I have made a useful contribution to the Lords.”
Crossbencher the Earl of Rosslyn last spoke in a debate in June 2009. He claimed £48,900 from 2010 to 2014, nothing in the final year. He is Master of the Household for Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, and it is understood he felt the royal role barred him speaking publicly.


PA
Lord MacLaurin of Knebworth: Claimed £56,958  
Tory Lord MacLaurin Of Knebworth, ex-chief executive of Tesco, joined in 1996. He last spoke in May 2008 but pocketed £56,958 between 2010 and 2015. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill, the respected widow of former Labour leader John Smith, got £199,000 allowances and expenses from 2010-15.


Photoshot
Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill: Claimed £199,000  
She vowed to stay out of political debate following her husband’s death in 1994. However she regularly attends the Lords and voted 133 times from 2010 to 2015.

Lord Alexander Leitch: Claimed £34,650  
Labour peer Lord Leitch who joined in 2004 and last spoke in 2008, scooped £34,650, including £4,800 in the ­Parliament’s final year.
He did not respond to a request for comment.
Ex-Tory peer Lord Hanningfield, jailed in 2011 for fiddling expenses, claimed £86,814 from 2010-15. He last spoke in June 2009.


Phil Harris / Daily Mirror
Lord Hanningfield: Claimed £86,814  
The Mirror reported how in July 2013 he claimed the £300 turn-up allowance 11 times after less than 40 minutes there.
He was suspended from the House and told to repay £3,300. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Electoral Reform Society Chief Executive Katie Ghose said: “The fact peers can claim thousands without even speaking or voting highlights that there is no accountability.
“The public can’t kick them out if they fail to serve the interests of citizens. We need to fix this broken House.”


Swansea University
Scandal-hit: Lord Sewel  
Anger over the Lords has re-ignited following the Lord Sewel scandal.
Paid to maintain standards in public life, he quit after he was filmed snorting white powder off a prostitute’s breast.
Our research did not examine written questions, voting or committee work.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/twenty-nine-peers-claimed-750000-6394432

Hi Go Get Em Goncalo,
"For they're jolly good fellows and so say all of us". Well done Dodgy Dave and successive Prime Ministers in helping to fleece the taxpayer in lining their good friends deep well-lined pockets, in the Official Retirement Home in London, very well done, Not!!?
All this allowed in this fine "Democratic Country" club the Houses of Parliament and snooze Chamber the Lords?

Where is Hercules when you need him!

Hercules is still pulling the cart around London, collecting various files and statements taken over the last fifty or so years from the House of commons and the Lords, you might not recognise "Hercules" as he is currently wearing Blinkers borrowed from the Daily Mail writer Dominic Lawson?