Duncan Hames’ pledges to local people on MPs’ pay and expenses

Local Liberal Democrat campaigner, Duncan Hames, is making three pledges to local people about how he will act if he is elected as our MP in the next General Election.

1. A full-time MP

If elected as your next MP, I will give up my business and will not be paid for any job or activities other than being a Member of Parliament. You deserve a dedicated, full-time MP.

2. No profit from expenses

I will not use taxpayers’ money to pay any part of the mortgage for a second home. I will only claim for expenses actually incurred to support my work on behalf of local people, and will publish all my expense claims for everyone to see.

3. No family favour

I will never employ any family or household members using tax-payers’ money. As your MP, I will conduct open recruitment for staff and advertise all permanent publicly-funded posts in local newspapers.

Speaking about his decision to make these pledges Duncan said: “Like so many of the local people I have spoken to over recent weeks, I was angry and disappointed by revelations about how selfish and irresponsible some MPs have been with our money.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. I am making these pledges now to give local people some confidence that they can expect a high standard of behaviour from their next Member of Parliament.

“You deserve a full-time MP who is open and about how they use your money, and who does not profit from it.

“We have heard too many excuses about what was ‘within the rules’, but put simply: your next MP should know right from wrong. Whatever measures emerge from Parliament later this year, be assured that these are the new standards you can expect from me as your next MP.”

Liberal Democrats in Wiltshire’s new Chippenham parliamentary constituency are celebrating victory in last Thursday’s elections. Of the 21 Council wards within the constituency, the Lib Dems won 11, beating the Conservatives who took 9 with one Independent. Labour failed to elect a single councillor. The Liberal Democrats elected a majority of the councillors within the two largest towns: Chippenham and Melksham, and all the councillors in Bradford on Avon.

The Liberal Democrats also won the popular vote across the Constituency (LD 43.5%, Con 39.1%, Ind 8.3%, Lab 5.6%). This means that, had these votes been cast in a General Election on Thursday, local Lib Dem campaigner Duncan Hames would have been elected as the Member of Parliament for Bradford on Avon, Chippenham, Corsham and Melksham.

Duncan Hames said: “This is an excellent result for the local Lib Dem team. Despite the Conservatives riding high in the national polls, local people have continued to prefer their local Liberal Democrats. I believe that these victories are a recognition of the hard work that local Lib Dem campaigners have put in for our area.

“They have elected a strong and experienced opposition to the Conservative ruling group at County Hall. We will ensure that the old Conservative administration behind the new Wiltshire Council is held to account for the decisions it makes and the way they spend local taxpayers’ money.

“People told me during this campaign, how angry they were about MPs expenses and that they were ready to give the Liberal Democrats a chance after Nick Clegg’s principled stand on cleaning-up Parliament and his plan to give them the power to sack errant MPs. Many former Labour supporters have come over to the Lib Dems in part because they understand that here in Chippenham, it’s a two horse race between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.”