Bringing home the Bacon!

                                                     
                        Richard Bacon MP   
                                          

It takes time for a blog to take off and be noticed; considering that the blogosphere simply has so many of them. A political current affairs blog, if anything, is even more challenging, but the authors and generators of ‘In the Box’ had no great expectations when we set up the site a few weeks ago, our goal and objective was to participate via the internet and cyberspace in debate raising it, and contributing into the public flow of things with the hope that some of our ideas may strike a cord with others.

So it came altogether as a complete surprise; that our post on homelessness ‘Down and out in Mayfair’ managed to stimulate a response from Tory MP Richard Bacon, but to be fare to Richard we did quote him in that post or rather used a quotation that was first published in the Daily Mail. It was what he said in his role as a then member of the committee on public spending in which he articulated that:

“The Department for Work and Pensions dose not know how many people are out of work by choice, rather than by chance. Properly targeted help must be put in place for those who want to work. Only then will the Government be able to flush out the shirkers who are sticking up two fingers at hard-working families and treating the benefit system like a cash machine.”

The problem with the above statement is that the Member of Parliament for South Norfolk offers not one shred of evidence to back-up his preposterous, ludicrous and very much incongruous slander on all unemployed working people. Then on the other hand when we look at MP’s expenses and in particular those made by Richard Bacon; we discover that this member was alleged to be the politician with the highest expenditure on taxi and car hire during the year 2006 a claim which he disputed and referred to the National Audit Office. However In May 2009, it was reported that Bacon used his Parliamentary expenses to claim £258 for two framed prints of Rome, £294.30 for nine cushions and £1,547.20 for curtains.

Well whatever the case may be, the fact is that MP’s have helped themselves to a large amount of lose change and by choice, in fact they had taken the chance and someone blew the whistle on them and not for a penny in a tin. Whatever happens after the next general election, one thing is for sure; the real fiddlers and shirkers who are sticking up two fingers at all working people unemployed of not, will still be trying to give us all lecturings and more besides, whilst helping themselves as they have always done.

In his communication with us Richard Bacon say’s that he had read the article through and then states:

“It is not the homeless who are “sticking up two fingers at hard-working families and treating the benefit system like a cash machine” and nor did I say that it was.”

Yes Richard we agree you did not say that; and we are not saying that you did. We were using your example of showing how you politicians are pushing about the housed unemployed, to demonstrate why many homeless and unemployed don’t claim benefit entailment.



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