Why MPs deserve their £10k crisis allowance – The Yorkshire Post says

Read here:

They’ve had to adapt to respond to an unprecedented volume of calls, and correspondence, from concerned constituents – while also making sure their offices conform to ‘social distancing’ guidelines and empowering staff to work from home.

They have also tried to work collectively, in the knowledge that this is also a political crisis like no other, and that criticism of Ministers, and officers, should be constructive and not unduly partisan.

Significantly, The Yorkshire Post has not received a single complaint from readers expressing a critical view about the diligence of any of the region’s 54 MPs at this time. Quite the opposite.

What we have been sent, however, is some letters bemoaning the extra £10,000 made available to each MP by the Parliamentary authorities and assertions that this is a blatant misuse of the expenses system.

It is nothing of the sort. It is an allowance that reflects the additional costs being incurred by MPs to ensure that their constituents receive a prompt response and Ministers held to account where necessary.

And the regret is some in the national media – and elsewhere – chose to misrepresent this and, in doing so, propagate myths that should have been laid to rest when strict rules on spending were introduced in the wake of the Parliamentary expenses scandal more than a decade ago. We hope that this sets the record straight.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.