MPs splurge £250,000 of public money on 'expensive' vanity portraits

[Arthur]

Clearly money well spent!

 

Source: The Independent

 

David Cameron’s extortionate £90-a-time haircut (and subsequent MBE for hairdresser Lino Carbosiero) might have set the average tax payer’s teeth on edge.

 

But that regular expense is but a snip compared to the £250,000 of public money that has been used to fund the ultimate MP vanity project – having specially commissioned portraits of themselves painted by the UK's leading artists.

 

According to an exclusive report published by the Evening Standard, these include spends of £10,000 on a portrait of Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, £4,000 to preserve Foreign Secretary William Hague in oils and £8,000 for a painting of Kenneth Clarke.

 

Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington Diane Abbott is said to have set the public funds back £11,750 for a seemingly topless oil painting of herself (pictured), while Dennis Skinner and Tony Benn each sat for portraits at costs of £2,180 and £2,000 respectively.

 

 

Price: £11,750

[rich_tech]

A waste of cash, but its gone passed shocking these days for me with our MPs, I dont even think that picture looks anything at all like Diane Abbott.

 

It just sickens me that were bearing the brunt of cuts here, with horrible budget recommendations and there is such blatant swindling and p*ss taking going on with public money everywhere.

Edited January 14, 2014 by rich_tech

[d0pefish]

Ahhh Diane Abbott, so no doubt she'll link it to a good cause which "promotes black people and shows that racism is prevalent in Hackney and the white man is just trying to keep the black man down"

 

Either that or Lennox Lewis had a sex-change

[plexer]

It's disgusting and wasting all that money is too.

[localzuk]

We're all in this together. £90 haircuts. £250k in paintings. Yup, they're absolutely necessary...

[adhutton]

This is bordering on corruption, IMHO!

 

Absolute rubbish!

Andrew

[PotNoodleTech]

At least if the MPs ever do get sacked they know they'll make great bankers. Experts at wasting other peoples money.

[rad]

And I don't even claim for the washing bill through the work I do. How many times come 10am on Monday do I look like I haven't washed my trousers thanks to dust/dirt from computers? Many....might start investigating this

[sonofsanta]

We're all in this together. So I'm looking forward to being able to claim my fuel costs, my mortgage, my childcare costs etc. as "expenses" instead of, y'know, taking them out my wage like everyone else does. Salary is meant to be all for disposable income, right?

[SpuffMonkey]

Yeah - my local MP (Michael Ellis) makes a big deal on all of his literature about how he claims £0 in expenses - though I read recently that he does claim £20,000 pa for housing allowances - funny he doesn't mention that - he should pay to commute like the rest of us have to - that'd get some action to improve the railways...

[Arthur]

he should pay to commute like the rest of us have to - that'd get some action to improve the railways...

How will MPs be able to travel on trains if they get rid of first class? We'll have to pay for them to travel to Westminster in helicopters and chauffeur-driven limos.

 

Is this the end of First Class rail? Ministers pay train firms to do away with premium seats « The Daily Mail