Helen Goodman freebie holiday & £180 on china.

Oink oink oink the Rt. Hon. Sow claims taxpayers cash for china.....The MP for Bishop Auckland was elected in May 2005 and initially stayed in hotels when in her constituency in Co Durham.

But at the end of August 2005 she booked a stone holiday cottage called Bide-a-Wee in the picturesque village of Romaldkirk.
Miss Goodman submitted a claim of £519.31 to the House of Commons fees office for staying in the cottage between August 27 and September 3, over the August bank holiday.
In a handwritten note on the claim she said: “This was for rent on a cottage in my constituency. It was booked on the net which is why the bill is in euros.”

The invoice was for €753 and showed that one adult and three children were booked to stay at the cottage.

In August 2005, Miss Goodman submitted a £42.18 claim for a hotel bill in Bishop Auckland. The bill was from March, two months before she was elected.

A fees officer wrote on the claim: “Date of claim is March 2005. Member was not an MP!” The claim was rejected. She said the claim was a mistake.

In early 2006, the MP bought a home in her constituency which she designated as her second home and claimed £10,071 stamp duty and £707.47 for a surveyor.

To buy the property, Mrs Goodman took out a £365,000 mortgage and claimed mortgage interest payments of £1,456 a month.

She also claimed £686 for furniture, £341.05 on carpets and £180.50 for china. She made further claims of £350 for a walnut desk from an antique dealer, £1,210.73 for curtains, £696 for sofas, £202.50 for roller blinds and £243.60 for glass and china.

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