Here’s the innocuous-enough sounding press release from the Deprtment of Transport, ‘Cost of Ministerial Cars for 2008′. But look at the bottom-line – well, you could do if they’d published one. What the bottom-line would show is that the cost of ministerial cars has increased to more than £6m, with the number of ministers claiming for cars also increasing.
As you might expect, Lib Dem shadow transport secretary Norman Baker isn’t going to let this one lie:
There are now nearly one in seven MPs enjoying Government largesse at the public expense. Ministers are happy to pump carbon out of their luxurious ministerial cars, while telling everyone else they need to cut their emissions back.”
Why are 1 in 7 MPs ministers or entitled to a government car? What happened to backbench MPs? We have far too many ministers and not enough scrutiny.
Why? Because that’s 100 votes in the bag, and 100 jobs to dangle in front of any majority MP who might be toying with the crazy idea that they’re there to represent their consituents or hold government to account.