Parliamentary hopeful makes expenses pledge

9.00.00am GMT Tue 19th Jan 2010

Exeter's Lib Dem Westminster hopeful Graham Oakes has made his first election promise.

Graham said:

"As I speak to people across the city a lot of people are saying 'you are all the same, just in it for what you can get' so I am today making a binding promise on expenses. I am making the promise because a few greedy politicians have given the impression that all MPs are milking in the system. That is not the case and when Exeter elects its new M.P. people need to know that their new representative won't be flipping or having phantom mortgages or even a duck house!

I will:

• publish any expense claim on my website regularly and in a timely fashion so that you can see what I have claimed

• claim for reasonable accommodation

I will not:

• claim for utility bills

• claim for furniture

• claim for magazines

• claim for food

• claim for gardeners

• claim for property maintenance

• claim for home improvements.

In the highly unlikely event I ever have a moat I will not expect the taxpayer to pay for its upkeep."