Statement by TUV North Antrim Westminster candidate Timothy Gaston:
“The past 12 months has seen yet another scandal surrounding politicians’ expenses. The scale of Sinn Fein abuse of the Stormont expenses system exposed by BBC Spotlight was simply staggering. Sinn Fein paid thousands of pounds in rent to cultural and historical societies which could not be shown to exist. Huge sums of public money went to a research company which, likewise, could not be shown to have done any research.
“What the BBC revealed amounted to the systematic abuse of the expenses system on an industrial scale. The reaction of Stormont to the broadcasts shows that there is no prospect of change.
“When the Westminster expenses story broke it dominated the news and business in the Commons. By contrast, when Stormont faced accusations which were worse, the reaction was muted. It was left to TUV leader Jim Allister to ensure that the matter was raised at all by way of an urgent oral question to the Assembly Commission.
“TUV believes that taxpayers should have the money which was fraudulently claimed by MLAs reimbursed. However, other parties would rather that everyone forgot about it. Far from returning their “ill-gotten gains” – as the DUP once demanded as a precondition for Sinn Fein entering government – the expenses system has become a source of ill-gotten gains.
“Unionist politicians were also far from blameless with thousands of stamps bought for use in a paperless office and thousands more claimed for iPads.
“Wearied and dismayed by the greed and the expenses scandal, many honest citizens have said they will never vote again. I understand this anger, but it is only by voting against those who have so besmirched politics that you can best make your point and help put things right.
“TUV offers people the chance to say enough is enough when it comes to the taxpayer being taken for a ride on this issue.”