NOBLESSE FAILS TO OBLIGE..

Yes, folks, he`s at it again.   Not for the first time, `Lord` Hanningfield has been caught out over his allowances and expenses as a member of the House of Lords.   This time he has been monitored clocking on, staying for a short while in the opulence of their Lordships House, then clocking off again.   These fleeting visits to Parliaments`s Second Chamber therefore entitle him to receive £300 each and every day he turns up.

The £300 is naturally tax free and there are doubtless other perks on hand such as House of Lords catering, drinkies and all the rest of it, all heavily subsidised by, you guessed it, we taxpayers.   But perhaps the biggest joke at our expense is that, as well as the £300 a day allowance, his Lordship is also entitled to claim his travelling expenses to get there in order to clock on and off and trouser the cash.  This nice little earner brought him £5,700 in allowances and a further £471 in `travel costs` in one month alone.

Now of course, "there is no suggestion that any rules have been broken," as a spokesman was quick to point out.  Of course not - perish the thought.   But surely there must be the strongest suggestion that it`s high time the "rules," such as they are, were thoroughly overhauled to prevent this kind of abuse happening.   And while we`re at it, it`s also high time this outdated, anachronistic, farcical pantomime was abolished altogether and replaced with a sensible Second Chamber to properly scrutinise legislation, comprising not of political place men and party donors, but of people of genuine stature who would command the nation`s respect.   

To be fair, there are already some eminently worthy and noble people sitting in the House of Lords, so why do we have to put up with the ignobility of Hanningfield, Taylor, Uddin and the rest of their unworthy ilk who contribute nothing of value and just bring the standing of Parliament into yet more disrepute?