MPs’ expenses
‘Gordon Brown has said “mistakes” were made by MPs in their use of House of Commons expenses.
The prime minister apologised on behalf of all political parties for some of the claims made and said public trust must be restored “immediately”.’ – BBC
‘Expenses claims made by Conservative MPs have been revealed, with dog food, light bulbs and Remembrance Day wreaths among the items listed.’ – BBC
‘What follows next will probably be worse still. There will be a sharp populist shift to the right, though the hard left may benefit too. We face many years of a big Tory majority government, of rampant Europhobia and of a beaten Labour, divided and bickering in opposition. What can be done?’ – Jackie Ashley, The Guardian
‘Gordon, people might be surprised to hear, given all the stories this week, is extremely scrupulous and conscientious in these matters. So my husband arranged for the cleaner to have a clear contract, paid holidays, NI contributions, regular rises – all the proper entitlements. For years Andrew spent quite a bit of time organising all that until they moved into No 10 and things changed. He would keep Gordon informed about what he owed for his share of the hours the cleaner came and Gordon would reimburse us.’ – Clare Brown, The Guardian
‘Mr Willetts billed the taxpayer £115 plus VAT for workmen to replace 25 light bulbs at his second home in west London. On the same bill, Mr Willetts charged another £80 to “change lights in bathroom”, part of a £2,191.38 invoice for odd jobs that included cleaning a shower head.’ – Gordon Rayner, The Telegraph
European elections
‘That is not to say that the BNP does not pose a genuine threat at the forthcoming European elections. In the North West, for example, where the party’s leader, Nick Griffin, is standing, the BNP only needs to go from 6.4 per cent to 8 per cent to be virtually guaranteed a seat. A single MEP could deliver the BNP as much as £250,000 a year in salaries and office costs. An only slightly bigger increase in the vote is needed in Yorkshire and The Humber and the West Midlands.’ – Leader, The Times
UK-China economic summit
‘Economic summits used to be the preserve of the big Western economies and Japan. Not any more. Today’s UK-China economic summit is important not just to build on the good relations between our two countries, but also because of China’s vital role on the world stage.’ – Alistair Darling, The Times
Middle East peace process
‘Mr Obama’s meeting next week with Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, will be the first in a series of meetings intended to revive the stalled “peace process”. President Mubarak of Egypt is expected to arrive a week later, followed by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority. On June 4, Mr Obama will head to Egypt to deliver a major address to a Muslim world that, because of his unusual biography and the measures he has already taken in office, may be disposed to listen.’ – Tom Baldwin, The Times
‘As King Abdullah of Jordan told The Times yesterday, it is time to make peace in the Middle East. Not only is there an urgent need to avoid another war, which could break out within a year or so in Gaza or Lebanon if things are allowed to fester. But a comprehensive settlement, rather than further partial deals or separate agreements on reviving the economy in the West Bank and returning the Golan Heights to Syria, is the only way that the spiral of suspicion and mistrust can be halted.’ – Leader, The Times