Over several weeks, “disclosures over how British legislators used public money to pay for items ranging from horse manure to plasma TVs and swimming pool repairs have outraged voters and forced dozens of House of Commons lawmakers to announce early retirement,” reports Associated Press (AP).

“Details of the claims were to have been released in July following a freedom of information ruling that ordered expense receipts to be made public. But the details have been published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper after it acquired copies in advance,” notes the article.

“Most of the claims were legally valid under Parliament’s lax rules, but some – like claiming payments for mortgages that were already paid off – could spark criminal charges,” notes AP .

A number of politicians have stepped down and the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, “became the first Commons Speaker to be effectively forced out of office for 300 years after criticism of his handling of MPs’ expenses,” writes the BBC.

“As many as 325 of Britain’s 646 House of Commons lawmakers could quit or be ousted by voters as a direct result of the scandal,” says Colin Rallings, director of the University of Plymouth’s elections data centre, notes AP.

“What we have got to do is restore public trust, to restore people’s faith that politicians are worthy of their trust,” said Prime Minister Gordon Brown (Telegraph ). “All MPs' receipts for expenses claimed over four years must be independently scrutinised.” Brown told the BBC .

Conservative party opposition leader David Cameron, said that people “want to see real action to bring about change – not just in the expenses system, but in the whole political system” (Independent ).

A poll conducted for the Times reports “an overwhelming majority of people believe that MPs are self-serving, out of touch and guilty of abuse.” A Guardian/ICM survey found “a quarter of voters are planning to reject mainstream political parties in favour of minority ones because of the expenses crisis,” reports Reuters.

“If MPs are to have legitimacy as lawmakers, they need to be exemplars of personal integrity,” commented Transparency International UK.

“Figures released to Parliament show that the 646 House of Commons legislators claimed 93 million pounds ($134 million) in allowances and expenses last year, reports AP.

On 25 May, Gordon Brown “ordered his European legislators to meet stricter accountability rules amid fears that similar abuses could be taking place at the European Parliament,” reports AP.

Photo:Flickr/BenLancaster