This morning, Nick Ferrari had Jacqui Smith on his show on LBC to discuss her new campaign to get the public involved in local policing. During the show, Mr. Ferrari took the opportunity to further discuss her claims for the secondary home allowance. Ms. Smith, instead of telling him off by pointing out that it is now old news and has nothing to do with her current work, decided to defend her position further. She stated that her primary residence is “not a spare bedroom in her sister’s house”; she is “sharing a home with her sister”. She felt this was necessary to do her job as Home Secretary in the best way. However, she “then also had to have a second home in (her) constituency” in order to represent her people.
I don’t know what it means to others, but this is what it means to me. If she is sharing her primary home with her sister, I’m under the impression that she bought the house with her sister, so both names appear on the title. Therefore, she is not paying rent to her sister. They are paying the mortgage and bills together. Is this really what’s happening? She needed to have a primary home in London to do her job as Home Secretary.
Then, she decides she needs a second home to represent her constituency. So, she set up house with her sister first, then her own family? Did she become Home Secretary before she became MP? That’s not really possible, is it? But her statements indicate that this was the order of events. At least, that’s what it sounds like when spoken on the radio.
