2015 UK Parliament Election - UKIP's Only MP Douglas Carswell Clashes With Party Over Whether To Use £650k Fund

 

UKIP's only MP has insisted he will not claim £650,000 of taxpayers' money, despite calls from party officials to use it in full.

Douglas Carswell said he would not be able to "look pensioners in the eye" in his constituency if he was claiming all the money the party is entitled to because of the almost 4 Million Votes UKIP Won across the country

The so-called "short money" is allocated to opposition parties based on the number of Commons seats and votes they win at an election.

Douglas Carswell said he was approached by Ukip officials with a proposal for him to employ a team of 15 people in his office using the money.
He said: "They approached me with a proposal to employ 15 people in addition to what I have got.
"I politely and firmly said that's not going to happen. I politely and firmly explained I would be putting forward a sensible proposal that was respectful to the taxpayer and to public sector workers in my constituency who have not had a pay rise for five years.
"I'm not going to allow anyone to create a Ukip trough in the House of Commons."