Jonathan Djanogly will today be quizzed by constituents on his claims for a cleaner and/or a nanny - it seems he employed her as a cleaner but she then advertised herself as a nanny/au pair on a certain website, raising questions similar to what Caroline Spelman was pilloried for last year over her payments from her Parliamentary allowance to her nanny.
The issue isn't really the bit about the nanny/au pair business - it's mainly that he only spent three days a month (on average) at the property. (His constituents might also like to question that bit too, whether in fact he is paying attention to Huntingdon properly, a seat inherited from John Major who, according to Owlperson, was much more solicitous of his constituents' goodwill.) £400 a month is quite a lot just for that. As usual it is the amount of money these people can claim from taxpayers in general
He is denying any impropriety and claiming that:
"I reconfirm my position that my claims were made within the law and the rules of the second-home allowance scheme," he said.
and yet:
"I will not make any further claims in respect of my second home until the system has been reformed."
Yet he was prepared to claim on an unreformed system for all this time. Like so much of the current crop of MPs, the people who are now falling over themselves to suggest reforms are the people for whom it became second nature to claim these sums, for properties which have in some cases (also see Alan and Ann Keen - Labour are far from whiter than white on this score either) remained empty for long periods of time. Djanogly is a millionaire, and, like the Keens with their double salary, it might also be fair to say that he could pay for it out of his own pocket rather than having to claim from the taxpayer. But that's too simple for some people.
A card, perhaps, for how Mr Djanogly will fare when he meets his constituents today:
Balefire Liege - White/Red - Spirit Horror
The card depicts an incorporeal but nonetheless potent and dangerous spirit who gives fillips to both red and white creatures - a nod to the sophistication involved with Djanogly's demeanour and the rage bubbling beneath his constituents' skin. The scandal is by no means over (and Benedict Brogan in the Telegraph last night asked why Djanogly's claim had been missed by Cameron's "strict" audit) - and although the reception will be civil, it will also be mutedly hostile. The spirit of the scandal burns away - but the rage is focussed and curt rather than diffuse and ineffective. Djanogly will run a gauntlet, and will probably survive, but be damaged with the rest of the Parliament of Manure until someone can come in and sort it all out properly.
