POLITICIANS’ expenses will always be a thorny subject – especially at a time when the public sector is being squeezed so tightly.

It is, therefore, no surprise that the claims for entertainment, submitted by flamboyant Commons Speaker John Bercow, have caused a fresh kerfuffle.

When libraries and children's centres are closing, and historic buildings such as Darlington’s Victorian covered market are under threat, is is entirely understandable that questions will be asked about whether the Speaker needs to be spending more than £1,000 on beeswax candles, and £286 to tune a grand piano, on top of £2,000 on a dinner to mark the retirement of former Deputy Speaker and Labour MP Dawn Primarolo.

But while scrutiny is vital, the controversy also needs to be kept in perspective. The Speaker is a traditional, ceremonial role and with it comes an expectation that he or she will be required to host functions for fellow parliamentarians. Grand pianos also need tuning from time to time.

What is important is that the spending attached to public roles is completely transparent because that will always promote accountability.

The Speaker’s latest expenses claims are more of a news story simply because they were divulged by the Press Association under Freedom of Information rules.

When journalists obtain information that would otherwise be private, it is natural for them to justify the time and effort by making it news with a harder edge than might otherwise have been warranted.

The lesson for the Speaker’s office is to have every item of expenditure itemised on a public website as a matter of course.

Hide information away and it becomes more interesting. Keep it out in the open and it is less likely to blown out of proportion.