Housewife who brought down Julie Kirkbride wants to help put pressure on MP's

May 31 2009 by Rebekah Oruye, Sunday Mercury

THE middle-aged Midland housewife who brought down Julie Kirkbride is offering to help people put pressure on expenses scandal MPs in other constituencies throughout Britain.

Louise Marnell, 43, chaired the ‘Julie Must Go’ campaign which led to Bromgrove Tory MP Kirkbride’s decision to step down at the next election, attracting support from more than 1,000 angry residents.

And last night she pledged to carry on campaigning against sleaze, offering to help anyone else seeking the resignation of MPs who took advantage of the expenses system.

“We plan to keep up the Julie Must Go campaign on Facebook to offer advice to people in other constituencies on their MP’s expenses,” she told the Sunday Mercury.

“Everyone of every age has been talking about the expenses issue. All this has proved it’s important that people exercise their power. It’s only when people do this that things change.

Unhappy

“I would encourage those in other constituencies to do the same if they are unhappy with their MPs.”

Louise started the campaign after Ms Kirkbride came under fire for claiming for a £50,000 extension, in which her brother lived rent-free, at her plush Bromsgrove flat.

She argued a spare bedroom was needed so her eight year-old son could have his own space. Then it was revealed that she had claimed the full £23,083 in second home allowance for the apartment.

Ms Kirkbride also paid her sister Karen Leadley £12,000 a year to be her secretary – even though she lives 140 miles from Bromsgrove and 100 miles from Westminster.

The Bromsgrove MP’s husband Andrew MacKay was forced to quit his own seat in Bracknell after admitting claiming a second home allowance worth thousands, when, in fact, he only owned one property.

Louise, who has been stay-at-home mum for eight years, became the figurehead of the Julie Must Go campaign, despite never voting before in her life.