I WAS horrified to browse the expense claims of MPs.

Selby's Blairite MP John Grogan claimed £25,917 on travel. Compared to other North Yorkshire MPs with large rural constituencies, this was a staggering amount: William Hague claimed £12,654, Greg Knight's total was £12,386 and Anne McIntosh's was £13,535.

He even beats the MP for Orkney and Shetland, Alistair Carmichael, who has to travel by plane between different islands and has the furthest distance to travel to Westminster.

I believe that this is because Mr Grogan does not possess a driving license, which simply beggars belief; an MP for a rural constituency, unable to drive and dependent on being taxied everywhere.

As a third-year student, it is mind-numbing to contemplate how much money is obviously being frittered away by Mr Grogan on transport.

The meagre amount offered to students in the forms of a loan is but a fraction of this total, and most people who graduate could not hope to acquire a starting salary of that size.

Let's hope the electorate calls a taxi for Grogan come the next General Election.

David Sammels,

Hull Road,

York.

Updated: 10:19 Saturday, November 06, 2004