Vote No To The BNP

This is a topic I have mentioned a few times during debates regarding the British National Party (BNP) they continually use the MP’s expenses scandal in press releases and propaganda material but it seems that the BNP are being as open and honest as they proclaim to be.

As we already know the British National Party are currently under investigation by the Electoral Commission for the refusal of the parties auditors to sign off the 2008 accounts as a true and fair reflection of the parties financial position, The “case under review” concerns a suspected breach of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act, which requires all party treasurers to file full and accurate accounts each year.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe there has been a breach of reporting requirements,” said a spokesman for the Electoral Commission.

Attention has now turned to the two BNP MEP’s Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons, who have since being elected to the European Parliment in June 2009 failed to declare any expenses publically as they are required to do.

The Telegraph reports the failure of Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons to give any details of how they spend more than half-a-million pounds of expenses, made up of a €50,424 (£45,382) annual general expenditure allowance, €4,148 (£3,733) annual travel allowance and a €210,480 (£189,432) a year staffing allowance – this despite not having “any staffers accredited to work” in Brussels or Strasbourg according to the European parliament.

Since the Telegraph article Nick Griffin MEP has produced some of his expenses on his personal website which amounts to over £200,000 of expenses claims the break down of those claims as as follows:

The costs, which come on top of his £82,000 MEP salary, include some £18,000 in “consultancy fees” and £10,000 in “agent fees”.

The BNP leader won his party’s first seats in Strasbourg after attacking MPs for having their “snouts in the trough”.

After being accused of failing to be more open about his expenses, he has now published a version of his claims on his personal website.

Mr Griffin claimed £175,000 in “staff costs” for eight employees with titles ranging from “European researcher” to “campaigns co-ordinator”. A further £31,000 was for “office management costs”, including an office in his home. His “office costs” included £2,800 on “furnishings” and over £4,000 on “repair, maintenance and security”. Mr Griffin made a pre-election pledge to be transparent about his expenses. But he is yet to reveal how much he has claimed of his £270-a-day MEP’s subsistence allowance, worth £40,000 tax-free every year, or how much he has claimed for travel

The so called open and transparent British National Party seems to be the not so honest and open party it likes to proclaim it is, other United Kingdom MEP’s use their own websites to produce the figures yet both Nick Griffin and Andrews Brons website (account pages) have remained blank since being elected.

So it would certainly seem that far from being the open and transparent politician who only intended to spend what was really needed, it seems from the figures Nick Griffin has released he has almost drained his entire years expenses allowances, and an important point to remember here is that MEP’s get far more expenses allowances that UK MP’s, so Nick Griffin as one of our 72 MEP’s are costing us the tax payers millions of pounds.

It seems Nick Griffin keeps a constituency office but we the tax payers are also funding his personal home office, where no doubt he takes care of every day BNP business, which under the EU Expenses rules he isn’t allowed to spend any of those expenses on anything related to domestic politics, so we need to question now just what Nick Griffin’s ‘home expenses are for and a more detailed breakdown to ensure he isn’t using EU Expenses to fund BNP work.

We all need to consider that the BNP get expenses of over half a million pounds on top of their £84,000 salaries paid for by us the British Tax Payers, but they seem to feel that we have no right to know how they are spending our Tax Money, our MP’s as we well know now have to produce all their expenses yet Andrew Brons seems to be using the EU rules to avoid the issues telling the Telegraph:

“…The amounts received in both subsistence and travel are on public record and I am not under any obligation to make any other return…I have not been asked to make any return but I have the exact figures if I am asked to do so…There is no obligation for me to make any other return…There is no requirement to make any other return…”

What he certainly seems to be saying here is I actually have no intention of telling the people who both voted for me and or pay my salary and expenses what I use their tax funded money for, because I don’t have to. We ask our MP’s for transparency and open politicians, the BNP are continually using their so called “sleaze” buster Michael Barnbrook who they like to claim is responsible for the current court cases of the 3 British MP’s and 1 Lord, yet they seem to be putting two fingers up to the people they represent and who have to pay for the £82,000 a year wage and £500,000 expenses telling them they don’t need to know.

Chris Davies, a Liberal Democrat MEP for the North West, said: “The BNP’s MEPs are shown to be less than open and transparent about their own financial affairs.”

It certainly seems like the BNP want to operate a system of do as we say, but don’t expect us to do the same, we will work by one set of rules whilst claiming other elected individuals should live by another set.

Vote No To The BNP in 2010

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