Clear vision?

Media getting in a tizz about the fact that some £700,000 has been spent on improvements to the Speaker's official residence - this is seen as evidence of his profligacy. It's somewhat reminiscent of the furore caused by the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, spending over £50,000 on handmade flock wallpaper for his official apartments. What seems to go unnoticed is the word "official" in both those cases. Whatever one may think of the people involved, the premises in both cases belong to the office and not the person - so the question to be asked is whether the money spent is appropriate given the status of the office. Whether or not you like the people involved is neither here nor there.