PM faces MPs expenses vote

MPs are preparing to vote on expenses reforms requiring them to submit receipts to back up all claims. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been forced to give up plans to scrap MPs' second home allowance and replace it with a daily attendance payment after failing to reach cross-party consensus. Mr Brown announced his plan to ditch the controversial allowance in a YouTube video last week before discussing it with Tory leader David Cameron and Lib Dem Nick Clegg. Both opposition leaders rejected the scheme as unacceptable, arguing that voters would see it as MPs being given a perk for turning up to work. Despite dropping the attendance allowance proposal, Mr Brown decided to press ahead with a vote today on interim changes in a number of other areas. They include: scrapping second homes claims for outer London MPs; requiring MPs to submit receipts to back up all claims; employing MPs' staff centrally; and forcing MPs to declare all outside earnings. The motion also seeks to agree broad principles for a new second homes allowance, including that it should be transparent and produce overall cost savings. The Prime Minister told MPs that even this reduced package would result in "more progress than we have made for many years" on expenses. Urging MPs to show "some humility", he said: "I think the whole country wants us to take action that is necessary to clean up any problems and any abuses that exist in our system." Ministers are expected to support Mr Brown's proposals, but backbench Labour MPs have been granted a free vote, raising the prospect that some or all of the package may be derailed.

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ITN | April 30, 2009

Tags:. .backbench. .clegg. .humility. .receipts. .unacceptable