AM EXPENSES: Trish Law (From South Wales Argus)

Good. Here is someone with a bit of integrity, someone worth voting for and listen to what she has to say, lives 35mls from work but doesn't think a second home is justified, still manages to have a good home life. Are you listening Nick Ramsey, Jocelyn Davies, Mike German and Lynne Neagal?

I have argued for some time that MP's do deserve expenses under the right circumstances and many of the AM EXPENSES here are not justifiable due to living so close to Cardiff when other "normal" people have to travel similar distances to Cardiff without a second home. I would argue that is you have to start work at 7 am and finish late in the WAG then you are more likely to miss the worst of the traffic anyway. However when justified by longer distances then I think it is absolutely justifiable if you haven't morally taken the biscuit. I have said that there will be good ones out there and Trish Law should be commended as should any others making these decisions before this scandal broke. However, as I do not live in Blaenau Gwent I have no idea how good an AM she is, but at least from her principles she should be commended.

Similar comparisons should be made elsewhere in the UK and a graph drawn up with all the parties and MP's collected together as a % showing us exactly which party has the worst offenders as as far as I can see the 3 main parties have all come out badly but who really are the worst? I would judge these in groups of:

1. Morally wrong claims.

2. Claim fairly in accordance with rules.

However, my idea of fair within the rules include being allowed to claim for bath plugs or toilet roll holders in second homes and some people think that that is morally wrong. However, I agree with the MP who recently said that she can't be expected to carry the toilet brush on the train each day. State funded second houses as a tenancy agreement for MP's would resolve this mess anyway.

I drift away from my main point in congratulating Trish Law on her decision in this matter.

Congratulations ONE decent politician thats not robbing us

Its nice to know that there are some really decent ministers. Well done Trish

I agree with all the positive comments above, but in our local paper she has been vilified for buying a sat.nav. costing a couple of hundred quid. Some people, more than likely Labour supporters, are conducting a smear campaign against her and Dai Davies(MP), whilst all along ignoring the grotesque claims made by MP's and ministers of the Government. Talk about not looking at the bigger picture.

I don't believe she is not claiming anything. may not be for second home but small things may be

I believe that claiming for resonable items are justifiable, even a sat nav I would say is fine as she probably needs it to get around various places to do with work. Compared to the other AM's claiming a second allownace when they are so close to Cardiff is another thing altogether. If they lived far enough away then the second allowance is fine.

Those representatives who have morally stretched the rules have no place governing us and have lost any moral high ground. Those that followed the rules and claimed morally can take a lesson from this and changes in the rules can be made.

The worring thing is that anyone can say I will never abuse anything, will work hard for my community, for education, health, unemployment and to tackle crime. Easy words to say, difficult actions to prove.

she is a decent woman who is always having the boot put into her by labour and others in the assembly perhaps they ought to take a long hard look at her example. A sat nav is reasonable if she has to drive places when she isn't on the train.