Web hits suggest interest in MPs’ expenses cooling

Plummeting visitor numbers to the MPs’ expenses website is evidence that voters are now confident politicians are no longer fiddling the system, a watchdog has claimed.

Only 190 checked the latest claims on the day they were published last month, compared with the 14,000 who went online to trawl through the first data in December, Sir Ian Kennedy told MPs.

The chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) was giving evidence to a review by a Commons committee of the new Westminster rules.

Ipsa has attracted much criticism since it was set up under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 in the wake of the expenses scandal.

The members’ expenses committee is due to deliver its verdict by the end of the year, and is expected to propose a number of changes to the regime.

One of the principal aims of Ipsa was to restore public confidence in politicians following the scandal, in part by increasing transparency, Sir Ian said.

“In December 2010 visitors to the website were close to 14,000. On the last cycle … visitors were 190. That is telling a story of recognition that these claims are legitimate,” he said.