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MP Expenses Scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal that emerged in 2009, concerning expense claims made by members of the British Parliament in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords over the previous years. The disclosure of widespread misuse of allowances and expenses permitted to members of Parliament (MPs) aroused widespread anger among the UK public and resulted in a large number of resignations, sackings, de-selections, and retirement announcements, together with public apologies and the repayment of expenses. Several members, and former members, of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords were prosecuted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment. A February 2008 Freedom of Information Act request for the release of details of MPs' expense claims was allowed by an Information Tribunal and was challenged by the House of Commons Authorities on the grounds that it was "unlawfully intrusive". In May 2008, the High Court (England an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palace Of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative chambers which occupy the building. The palace is one of the centres of political life in the United Kingdom; "Westminster" has become a metonym for the UK Parliament and the British Government, and the Westminster system of government commemorates the name of the palace. The Elizabeth Tower of the palace, nicknamed Big Ben, is a landmark of London and the United Kingdom in general. The palace has been a Grade I listed building since 1970 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. The building was originally constructed in the eleventh century as a royal palace and was the primary residence of the kings of England until 1512, when a fire destroyed the royal apartments. The monarch moved to the adjacent Palace of Whitehall, bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
False Accounting
False accounting is a legal term for a type of fraud, considered a statutory offence in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. England and Wales This offence is created by section 17 of the Theft Act 1968 which provides: Section 17 replaces sections 82 and 83 of the Larceny Act 1861 and the Falsification of Accounts Act 1875. The words "dishonestly with a view to gain for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another" are substituted in section 17 for the words "intent to defraud" in the former provisions. ;"Dishonestly" See Dishonesty. "Gain" and "loss" "Gain" and "loss" are defined bsection 34(2)(a)of the Theft Act 1968. ;Mode of trial and sentence This offence is triable either way. A person guilty of this offence is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the prescribed sum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caroline Spelman
Dame Caroline Alice Spelman (' Cormack; born 4 May 1958) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Meriden in the West Midlands from 1997 to 2019. From May 2010 to September 2012 she was the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in David Cameron's coalition cabinet, and was sworn as a Privy Counsellor on 13 May 2010. Education Born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, Spelman attended the Hertfordshire and Essex High School for Girls (now called The Hertfordshire and Essex High School), in Bishop's Stortford, and received a BA First Class in European Studies from Queen Mary College, University of London. Early career She was sugar beet commodity secretary for the National Farmers' Union from 1981 to 1984. She was deputy director of the International Confederation of European Beet Growers (officially known as ''La Confédération Internationale des Betteraviers Européens'' – CIBE) in Paris from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chairman Of The Conservative Party
The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives are in government, the officeholder is usually a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet holding a sinecure position such as Minister without portfolio (United Kingdom), Minister without Portfolio. Deputy or Vice Chairmen of the Conservative Party may also be appointed, with responsibility for specific aspects of the party. The Chairman of the Conservative Party is Nigel Huddleston, assuming this role on 4 November 2024. The role of Deputy Chairman is currently vacant and not in use. The role was created in 1911 in response to the Conservative party's defeat in the December 1910 United Kingdom general election, second 1910 general election. The position is not subject to election, as it is given by the party leader. List Key ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standards And Privileges Committee
The Standards and Privileges Committee is a former committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons that existed from 1995 to 2013. The committee was established in 1995 to replace the earlier Committee of Privileges. It consisted of 10 Members of Parliament that sat to make recommendations to the House on complaints of breach of parliamentary privilege. It was itself replaced in January 2013, when it was split into the Committee on Standards and the Committee of Privileges, in order to allow the Committee of Standards to employ lay members. The committee was appointed by the House of Commons to oversee the work of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards. The current commissioner is Daniel Greenberg. Duties The commissio .... It examined the arrangements for the compilation, maintenance and acce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derek Conway
Derek Leslie Conway TD (born 15 February 1953) is an English politician and television presenter. A member of the Conservative Party, Conway served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Shrewsbury and Atcham from 1983 to 1997, and Old Bexley and Sidcup from 2001 to 2010. He is currently a presenter of ''Epilogue'', a book review programme on Press TV, an English-language international television news channel funded by the Iranian government. In January 2008, Conway announced that he would stand down at the next general election after a Commons standards committee found that he had employed his son Freddie, a full-time student at Newcastle University, as a political researcher using public funds, despite there being no record of his son doing any work at Westminster. As a result, Conservative Party leader David Cameron withdrew the whip from Conway, effectively expelling him from the Parliamentary Conservative group. He received considerable criticism from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. The party sits on the Centre-right politics, centre-right to Right-wing politics, right-wing of the Left–right political spectrum, left-right political spectrum. Following its defeat by Labour at the 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 general election it is currently the second-largest party by the number of votes cast and number of seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons; as such it has the formal parliamentary role of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition. It encompasses various ideological factions including One-nation conservatism, one-nation conservatives, Thatcherism, Thatcherites and Traditionalist conservatism, traditionalist conservatives. There have been 20 Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997 and held various shadow cabinet posts from 1987 to 1994. Blair was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield (UK Parliament constituency), Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007, and was special envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East from 2007 to 2015. He is the second-List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure, longest-serving prime minister in post-war British history after Margaret Thatcher, the longest-serving Labour Party (UK), Labour politician to have held the office, and the first and only person to date to lead the party to three consecutive general election victories. Blair attended the independent s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Lewis List
The John Lewis List was the name given to the list of expenses that Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom could claim before 2010, after which the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) was set up to administer MPs' business expenses. The list was so called because it was based on the prices of items from the John Lewis store — because it was highly rated by ''Which?'' magazine. The John Lewis list was used by House of Commons officials to determine whether an expense claim item submitted by an MP was within reasonable cost. MPs who represented a constituency outside central London could each claim up to £23,000 a year towards the cost of running their second homes. 'The John Lewis List' has earned its place in history as a moniker for the expenses scandal, which was revealed in 2009 after a Freedom of Information request brought to light the extent of the abuse of the guidelines by a number of MPs. Despite being refused various claims by the now-de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Line Whip
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips are the party's "enforcers". They work to ensure that their fellow political party legislators attend voting sessions and vote according to their party's official policy. Members who vote against party policy may "lose the whip", being expelled from the party. The term is said to be taken from the " whipper-in" during a hunt, who tries to prevent hounds from wandering away from a hunting pack. The term may more reasonably have been taken from the practice of "keeping discipline" in slaves by cracking a leather whip over their heads. Additionally, the term "whip" may mean the voting instructions issued to legislators, or the status of a certain legislator in their party's parliamentary grouping. Etymology The expression ''whip'' in its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leader Of The House Of Commons
The Leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The Leader is always a member or attendee of the cabinet of the United Kingdom. The House of Commons devotes approximately three-quarters of its time to debating and explaining government business, such as Bill (law), bills introduced by the government and ministerial statements. The Leader of the House of Commons, with the parties' Chief Whip, chief whips ("the usual channels"), is responsible for organising government business and providing time for non-government (backbench) business to be put before the House of Commons. The position of leader of the House of Commons is currently held by Lucy Powell, who was appointed on 5 July 2024 by Keir Starmer. Responsibilities The current responsibilities of the Leader of the House of Commons are as follows: *Planning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman, (born 30 July 1950), is a British politician and solicitor who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Chair of the Labour Party (UK), Chair of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2015 and Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal from 2007 to 2010. She also briefly served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition in 2010 and 2015 after the resignations of Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband respectively. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham (UK Parliament constituency), Camberwell and Peckham (formerly Peckham (UK Parliament constituency), Peckham) from 1982 to 2024, during which time she held various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet and Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), Shadow Cabinet positions, and was appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
