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Originally Posted by punky
I have never said I don't.
A poll tax is never something to be proud of.
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It's not a poll tax, it's a licence to own a TV and it's goes towards funding the stuff you want to watch but I don't. I don't mind thouh because I appreciate that's what the BBC is there for and I bought a TV fully aware of that.
---------- Post added at 10:54 ---------- Previous post was at 10:47 ----------
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...love-seat.html
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The MP for Harwich said on Tuesday that the money had been well spent because his wife had recently given birth.
Mr Carswell, who has made his name as an anti-sleaze campaigner, made the claim after switching the designation of his second home to a property in his constituency, having claimed thousands of pounds for a London flat.
He initially designated the £1 million flat in south west London as his second home after being elected in 2005. He claimed more than £21,000 for a deposit, rent, food and furniture over 15 months.
The MP then began renting a £335,000 house in Thorpe Le Soken, Essex, in March 2007, and designated this as his second home. He again paid for the security deposit from his expenses.
He then used his allowances to pay for furniture, including the £655 "Maximus" love seat in deep moss brushed cotton, with extra fabric protection from sofa.com. Mr Carswell lives at the house with his wife, Clementine.
He said: "I bought the love seat and bed when moving into the home with my future wife. We have since got married and have had our first baby."
Since the couple moved in, Mr Carswell has claimed a total of £32,000 in expenses related to the house.
He also owns a property in Hertfordshire, which he rents out. Mrs Carswell sold her flat in south-west London for £500,000 last year.
The MP bills taxpayers for the entire rent of £1,250 per month and £2,280 annual council tax bills for the Essex house.
Since moving in, he has also claimed £1,605 for two sofas and £1,483 for a bed, mattress and chairs from ILVA.
He spent a further £700 for bedding and household extras at Peter Jones and The White Company.
Mr Carswell also claimed £453 for a fridge freezer, £400 for a washing machine, £99 for a garden strimmer and bin, and £377 for a radio, telephone, vacuum cleaner, iron and television.
In November 2007, he claimed £429 for four days' worth of gardening.
He also claimed for a range of items bought at Tesco, including a 74p washing line.
Mr Carswell rose to prominence in April last year when he became the first MP to publicly call for Mr Martin to resign over his decision to instigate a legal challenge to keep the details of MPs' expenses secret.
He criticised the Speaker for his handling of the row over MPs' expenses and for his failure to restore the integrity of Parliament. "Never has there been such bitter contempt for politicians or the standing of MPs been so low," he wrote at the time.
"We need to clean up Westminster politics and take action to restore faith in our political system." Mr Carswell, who worked as an adviser to David Cameron in the run-up to the 2005 election, last month tabled a no-confidence motion against Mr Martin.
Although the motion was not debated, it was widely credited with having helped prompt the Speaker's decision to resign later this month.
Last night Mr Carswell told The Daily Telegraph: "I have never used public money to pay a private mortgage. I have instead rented.
"It is true that I bought an armchair, sofa and some bedding, as well as a few other modest items of crockery and furniture. I believe this is entirely justified."
"Before making every claim, I have asked myself not only 'is it within the rules', but 'can I justify this to my local constituents'. In every instance I believe I can," he said.
SNAPSHOT
Douglas Carswell
Job: backbench Conservative MP for Harwich
Salary: £64,766
Total second home claims
2004-05: N/A
2005-06: £10,869
2006-07: £18,953
2007-08: £23,083
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If Douglas Carswell was so concerned about the nation being ripped off maybe he should pay back that money he stole directly off the taxpayer without even contributing to our nations cultural wellbeing?
---------- Post added at 11:06 ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 ----------
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Originally Posted by heero_yuy
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Even though ITV are cutting investment in programming commercial broadcasters still cost you more than the BBC. Advertising has to be paid for and has to cover the cost of making those shows and has to make a profit for the companies involved. Advertising costs form part of a marketing budget, marketing budgets are costed into the final cost of the products in the shops.
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The BBC poll tax raises about £3.6 billion (Source) plus this
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Oh yes, every right wing shrill propaganda extremists wet dream the Daily Mail bleats on about the BBC because the Daily Mail wants to charge you to view news on the internet and is so running a smear campaign against it's biggest rival.
The Daily Mail and General trust avoided paying its fair share if tax last year by exploiting legal loopholes in the taxation legislation in a similar fashion to TESCO and their owner Lord Rothermere is a non-dom registered in France and avoids paying a bucket load of tax.
Obviously if they were that concerned about the nations finances they fix that and if Cameron was that serious about making Britain fairer he'd announce a crack down on these schemes.
But then it's easier to attack the BBC and keep the support of ones friends isn't it?
I've already addressed this. He should really do something about his expenses no? Surely he isn't trying to deflect attention away from his pilfering?
Eat that!