Sleaze, Freebies and MPs: The British Parliamentary Expenses and Allowances Scandal
Résumé
In 2009, it became known that many British Members of Parliament (MPs) had been abusing their parliamentary expenses and allowances that were funded by the taxpayer. The sleaze was revealed due to the Freedom of Information Act (2000) that allowed requests for the disclosure of data on public bodies and the persistence of certain journalists. The fallout of the expenses scandal was marked by the resignation of certain MPs and the imprisonment of others, a drop in the electorate’s trust in politicians, as well as a reform of the parliamentary expenses system in order to improve the image of MPs and democracy. Moreover the scandal exposed a secret and far from transparent form of self-governance and self-regulation concerning MPs’ parliamentary finances.
This article addresses the question of what the MPs expenses scandal revealed about the state of the British Parliamentary system at the start of the twenty-first century. The article starts by outlining how the expenses scandal came to light. It then explores the impact and long-term consequences of the MPs parliamentary expenses and allowances sleaze. This leads to a discussion on some of the potential explanations for the sleaze-ridden behaviour of so many MPs.