George to battle sitting MP for general election victory
A CHARITY worker has launched a campaign to unseat a high-profile MP out of anger at his expenses.
George Burke, 58, is planning to spend up to £15,000 from his own savings to battle Labour’s Cardiff South and Penarth MP Alun Michael at the upcoming general election.
Cardiff-City fan George, whose day job is with elderly charity Age Cymru, is going to take three weeks of holiday before the election to press his case as an independent candidate “standing up for the ordinary man”.
“I’ve no party baggage, I’ve no particular allegiance. It’s just standing up for the ordinary man and woman,” said George, who writes a weekly Ask George column for the Echo.
“I don’t normally get annoyed. But of late with the MPs expenses and the other scandals, I had been thinking about standing.
“I read that Alun Michael had to pay back nearly £20,000 and I was shocked. I dug around a bit and his expenses were the highest of all the Welsh MPs.
“That isn’t right. Ordinary people reading that would think what the hell’s going on.
“All I want to do is stand for decency, stand for honesty.”
Over the past nine months, Mr Michael has been caught up in the expenses scandal twice.
Last July it emerged he had designated his constituency home in Penarth as his second address and claimed £2,600 to repair his roof and £1,250 to repair a wall and build a 13ft chain link fence.
And last month, he made headlines a second time after voluntarily repaying £19,169.56 – more than any other Welsh MP – for mortgage interest claims judged by former civil servant Sir Thomas Legg not to have been “for an eligible purpose”.
Liverpool-born Mr Burke, who moved to Penarth 33 years ago after being offered a job at department store Howells, said his highest public post had been chairman of the Cogan Primary Parent Teacher Association.
He said he had been inspired by former BBC man Martin Bell, the white-suited reporter who trounced sleaze-allegations MP Neil Hamilton in Tatton in 1997.
He said: “Some people would say I’m mad but we’re going to have a go.”
Mr Michael said yesterday: “I’m rather surprised at the way this has been put as the Echo rightly reported that I voluntary applied to myself an interpretation of rules made by Sir Thomas Legg.
“I didn’t wait to be told what to repay and indeed Sir Thomas’ report contains the summary recommendation: member to pay nil.
“The designation of my constituency home as my second home was not a matter of choice.
“When I became a minister in 1997, all ministers were told you have no choice about the designation of your homes, your London home is defined for the purposes of your allowances of your main home.
“What I haven’t done is flip the designation.
“I certainly didn’t get into politics for the money and my motivation is doing my best for my constituents.
“The reason that my expenses are high is because I use every penny available to run a highly efficient constituency office.”
Story from Mediawales.
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