Joan Ryan MPs Expenses Scandal

London MPs flipping their second homes for financial gain have been some of the worst examples of the MPs Expenses scandal. Forget the comical claims for toilet seats and the like - when an MP gets the chance to avoid tax in this way, they can make £000s.

MPs like Joan Ryan, the Enfield North MP who nominated her London flat as a her main home, have been claiming for decorating, furniture and fittings - even the costs of hetaing and lighting. Then when they sell the property they get the profits tax free. Later they have switched back to call the constituency house their main home, so they will also avoid tax whenever that property is sold.

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MPs on the fiddle second homes

Another MP on the fiddle could be Joan Ryan, who claimed the maximum second home allowance of £31,000 even though she asserts that she lives in her Enfield North constituency - just nine miles from Westminster. I have seen no coverage of any offer to repay MPs expenses from her. Other MPs in similar positions have already done the decent thing:

Alan and Ann Keen claimed almost £40,000 a year on a central London flat although their family home was less than 10 miles away

Chris Grayling claimed for a London flat even though his constituency home is only 17 miles from the House of Commons. He has agreed to stop doing so

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