All this Ashcroft got me wondering about the Ipswich Labour Party’s finances.

The 2008 details are here (in PDF format).  The bulk of the Labour Party fundraising is through a profitable door to door gambling operation that reaches out into other parts of Suffolk and Norfolk.  It’s lumped together as “fundraising”.

Anyway the rent that we the taxpayer paid through Chris Mole’s parliamentary allowances in 2008 was £7,200 (up 20% from the previous year).  We also paid £3,000 extra in advance, so you could (but I won’t)say  we paid £10,200 in that year.  Enough for quarter of an agent.

But the members, what about the members.  Well they paid £2,091 in subscriptions (less than a third of Chris Mole’s rent).  They also received donations of £4,375.  Trade Union affiliation fees were £155. 

In total the membership raised £6,621.  And we the taxpayer paid £7,200.

Public Impact, for who we the taxpayer pay more than £4,000 a year, are not a simple print shop.  They are a Labour Party operation, although they do not seem to have any above the counter links.  However they are clear on their (Labour facing) page as to what they are about:

We do not work for the other parties nor their MPs. We are staffed by Labour Party members and supporters.

In short, they are highly partisan and any public money going towards them will be expected to be going towards electing or re-electing Labour candidates.

So bad enough in a “communications” budget, but surely our MP would not misuse his expenses to get their services in an office budget?

Well not the last year, but the year before that?

Sure he did:

£1110.48 for 30,000 leaflets in 2006/07:

http://mpsallowances.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/hocallowances/allowances-by-mp/chris-mole/Chris_Mole_0607_IEP.pdf#=page[58]

£2,546.41 for 70,000 leaflets and 500 posters in 2005/06 (election year):

http://mpsallowances.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/hocallowances/allowances-by-mp/chris-mole/Chris_Mole_0506_IEP.pdf#=page[39]

£1,571.06 for 35,000 leaflets in 2004/5:

http://mpsallowances.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/hocallowances/allowances-by-mp/chris-mole/Chris_Mole_0405_IEP.pdf

£5,227.95 on literature over three years.  That makes up for a lot of lost Labour Party members and union subscriptions.

And here are the rules from the Green Book that is supposed to that claims to govern the Parliamentary allowances:

The AOE is an allowance designed to provide for facilities, equipment, supplies and services for Members and their staff.

It may only be used to meet the following costs:

• Accommodation for office or surgery use or for occasional meetings
• Equipment and supplies for the office or surgery
• Work commissioned and other services
• Certain travel costs not met out of travel expenditure

…….

The only area that the Public Impact propaganda could potentially claim to be calling under is for “Work commissioned and other services”, however even this is not open to interpretation:

• Maintenance services for hardware, software and equipment
• Interpreting and translation services
• Training for Members or staff
• Recruitment services
• Work that you would reasonably expect a member of your staff to undertake, for example, a piece of research

It is cut and dried, Chris Mole has used the taxpayer to pay for propaganda, against both the spirit and the letter of the rules.  He should pay back every penny that we the taxpayers paid to Public Impact.

I said that there where some interesting items on Chris Mole’s expenses.  One of the themes (possibly the theme) of Chris Mole’s expense claims has been the way in which he cross subsidises the Labour Party at a number of different levels.  In effect it means we have state funding of political parties, or more accurately of the Labour Party, in Ipswich.

The most blatant way in which this was done was the payments to the Ipswich Labour Party of £500 per month for use of a room in the Labour Party offices.*  This is going to be the equivalent of the third of the salary of a full time election agent (who also happens to have a council seat and so a nice swag of expenses).  This gives Labour a massive advantage in a marginal seat where none of the other parties can afford this.

So why can’t Chris Mole borrow an office in the Ipswich council building, like David Blunkett does in Sheffield?  As well as being cheaper for the taxpayer he will be in far closer contact with council officials, maintain a non partisan presence and be able to use the receptionist and switchboard services that the council has.  Of course you won’t be able to subsidise your party political machine, but that’s hardly the point of taxes, is it Mr Mole?

*  To see one example of this go to the 2008 incidental expenses entry:

http://mpsallowances.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/hocallowances/allowances-by-mp/chris-mole/Chris_Mole_0708_IEP.pdf#page=[115]

You may have to go to page 115 manually, depending on your browser. 

There you will see £3000 rent.  This is for six months, so you can divide this by six to get £500 per month.