Recently the Mail Online broke a story about how the BBC technology chief spent £639 on taxi ride . These sorts of expenses are nothing new. The BBC, as well as the and House of Commons and House of Lords, are legacy institutions. Introducing change in legacy institutions is very difficult. The critical issue is how do you manage to adapt an old culture that is used to doing things in own way when that culture is also financially supported and so has no reason to change. [...]

MP expenses continue to dominate the news in the UK, and I have to say it: the House of Commons is a cesspit of medieval privilege. It’s a mess. MP expenses are just one example of the privilege and ‘old boy’ advantage-taking going on. Look at how an MP gets a motion on the floor. It’s difficult to comprehend the privilege, status, committee work, and administrative arrangements that are necessary. [...]

The issue of MP expenses has stormed back into the spotlight in the UK today after the Telegraph revealed explicit details from MP receipts . MPs who have been called out on their expenses (in particular Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, former defense minister Geoff Hoon, and now Gordon Brown and Jack Straw) say they are working within the rules, but the media has portrayed them as taking unfair advantage and using taxpayer funds for their personal use. MPs need to improve the public’s understanding of what they do, and this can only be accomplished through greater transparency. [...]