I’ve got to break it to you. I’m afraid I may have to start claiming some expenses as a County Councillor.

If you ever check up on such things you’ll know that I have claimed no expenses whatsoever for the last two years.

It’s been a (rather small-scale) point of principle.

Lets not get this out of proportion. You’ll be pleased to know that there isn’t a great deal that a county councillor CAN claim for at the best of times  – and this is as it should be.  But I have not claimed for travel on council business – even when Tory cuts mean that there are no longer buses running to get me home; I have not claimed for meals to sustain me on the days when I leave home at 7 and don’t get back till late;  the wreath I laid on behalf of Woodbridge’s war dead was paid for out of my own pocket – and on the odd occasion work has taken me to London I’ve stayed with friends rather than cost the hardpressed council-tax payer of Suffolk a single penny. I am a carer for someone who often cannot be left safely, but  even here I have used a patchwork of friends and favours to provide the required care. (Staff at Suffolk CC’s Endeavour House have been wonderfully supportive  on a couple of occasions when I’ve had real emergencies.)

Please note –  I don’t want to sound self-righteous, I’ve been making a point. I want to show up the contrast  between what is possible and what some others think it appropriate to claim for – legitimately – at a time of fiscal belt-tightening.

However, I’m afraid that care costs are becoming quite difficult – particularly as family circumstances mean that from September I will have no adult cover at anytime  during the week . So, as I said, I am thinking I may have to claim for emergency cover as and when I need it.

Now I think that being a full-time carer as well as a full-time county councillor makes me a better full-time county councillor – just as I think that being a county councillor who travels by public transport and bicycle will have a better understanding of the problems of rural transport than one who travels by car with expenses-funded petrol. It is also very important that the business of being a local councillor is not restricted to those who can afford it.

I suspect if there were more in my position representing you, some significant and important council decisions would have been different – and the outcomes for the people of  Suffolk might have been better.

If you have strong feelings on this matter – please contact me now -either by commenting below or by email/twitter etc