From the BBC, it looks like a the government will be publishing “expense claims” of MPs, which has officials concerned over expected public outrage. Public funds being used for private housing (as allowed by their “Additional Cost Allowance”) is one issue under contention, as are payments made to family members (a conflict of interest not at all unfamiliar to political observers in the US). Another victory for FOIA laws: “The Commons has been ordered to publish details of 14 MPs’ claims under Freedom of Information laws. Sources say all claims may be published by December.”
The article also quotes Nick Clegg (Lib Dem Leader) as saying “We need to start again and build a system that is transparent, that makes sense and that re-establishes public confidence in the work that MPs do on their behalf.” To me, this leaves the question unresolved as to what standard one can look to in choosing what information to require legislators to disclose, and also what standard could be used to adequately evaluate the information that results. Where does the line reside between conflict of interest and the independence of a Congress or Parliament? I suspect that our societal standards for what qualifies as corrupt, or as a quid pro quo, are as lacking in detail as are our distinctions about government data. In fact, I suspect that the two area actually different parts of the same question.
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