They say you should never discuss politics or religion or work with children and / or animals. I’m perfectly happy to discuss religion, since I live in a multi-faith household. I work for an animal charity,  so dogs are frequently around the office and most welcome. And I plan to have children one day, which I’m told can be ‘work’.

Clearly I don’t really listen to what ‘they’ say, but I still rarely tackle the subject of politics. For one, I don’t like talking at length about something I don’t have particularly in-depth knowledge about. It’s not through lack of interest, but it’s a bloody big subject, don’t you think? I have often erred on the side of political cynicism, too, which means certain subjects fill me with anger, frustration or contempt, not emotions I particularly want to invite into my life if I can avoid it.

And so we come onto the subject of MPs expenses. This is a topic I feel I can look at in very simple terms.

1. Screwing the expenses system is wrong. If you are caught doing it at work, you are fired. Paying it back is fine, but you should still be fired. I’m unimpressed, but not particularly angry (or surprised).

2. Spending money on wars no-one wants or agrees with, on the other hand, makes me extremely annoyed – let’s call it ‘disgusted’. Especially when you can’t even seem to spend it efficiently enough to send brave women and men into the field properly equipped.

The petty financial dishonesty of MPs should be no surprise, given that they were thoroughly complicit in the destruction of the banking sector and the much more troubling devastation to people’s lives. It should not become a smokescreen for the real crimes that have been committed.