Clear distinction between Tory and Labour expense claims |

Thursday 21st May 2009 | 15:26

Clear distinction between Tory and Labour expense claims

The Phi100 panel see a clear difference between the expense claims made by Labour MPs and those made by the Conservatives

There is a clear distinction between the expense claims made by Labour and Conservative MPs, with the Tories claiming for moats and duck islands and the government claiming for mortgages.

That's the verdict of the Phi100, Britain's most authoritative survey of inside and expert political opinion.

We asked the panel whether they thought that the following assessment made by a BBC news anchor was accurate:

"The difference between the parties is clear: in the blue corner it's moats and chandeliers and duck islands and in the red corner it's mortgages."

A significant majority (fifty nine percent) of the politically balanced panel agree with this assessment, although there is some division within the political spectrum about this.

Majorities of left-leaning, Lib Dem and non-aligned panellists all think the distinction between the two parties is accurate. Right-leaning panellists were the group to buck the trend. A slight majority of them think that the assessment is not accurate.

Flipping greedy

Though the minority, panellists that think the news anchor's assessment to be inaccurate were more forthcoming in commenting on the distinctions between the two parties.

A left-leaning media panellist remarked, "flipping is constant across the parties".

A Lib Dem parliamentarian agreed saying, "they are both flipping greedy".

A different left-leaning media panellist saw some distinction saying "it's a caricature, but partly true", while a right-leaning strategist admitted the judgement was "appropriate as a generalisation".

Username:
Password:
Remember Me
Forgotten details?

The Live Wire

+What we do...

+Sections

+Explore

+PRO

+On the Go

Find your MP

Insider Research

Understanding the heart of Westminster