Same tune, different words*

 The voters sing:

"I work all night, I work all day,
To pay the bills I have to pay,
Ain't it sad.

And still there never seems to be
A single penny left for me,
That's too bad."

The Politicians sing:

"Money, money, money,
Must be funny
In a politician's world.

Money, money money,
Must be sunny
In a politician's world."

Bearing in mind the words above, we learn:

MEPs unveil new plans for direct taxes to fund EU budget.

MEPs have said parliament's budget should be increased by 2.3 percent next year, at the same time rejecting a proposal for euro-deputies to take more economy class flights in future.

MPs handed £3.2m in expenses at end of 2010, taking total to £10m in just eight months.

Portugal bail-out: Is the EU Commission burying its head in the sand? - Farage

When in serious monetary trouble the first rule is to cut all unnecessary expenditure. So:

1. We leave the EU, saving billions per annum (and the liability of further bail-out participation)

2. We stop providing overseas aid to countries that are, in effect, richer than us

3. We provide tax-raising powers to local authorities, thus making them self-financing, provide them with the responsibility of all matters to do with education, health and law & order; which would really make local councillors answerable to their electorate.

4. As a result of 3, it would not be necessary for Parliament to sit as much as it does as the present incumbents would have less to do. Consequently their expenses would be less and for the time they are required in Westminster, any overnight accommodation could be paid at Travel Lodge rates; office staff would not require duplication (parliament/constituency)

 

5. In view of 4, it would not be necessary to have so many MPs - those redundant could be used as replacement decorations on lamp posts, come Christmas.

That'll do to start with..................

* With acks to Benny Anderson & Bjorn Ulvaeus