The way in which we spend public money or rather how it is spent on our behalf varies wildly depending on ones point of view. This weekend Boris Johnson has written a piece in the Telegraph, once again promoting the idea that was on the side of the Red Vote Leave buses that our NHS will benefit from £350m each week once we have left the EU. This is being denied and challenged not just by people who did not agree with Brexit but also by voices from the Brexit side of the argument. To be fair Nigel Farage dismissed it as nonsense within minutes of the votes having been counted, a frankness he did not manage before the vote! Another voice this week offering to spend the same sum of money or at least 40% of it on farm subsidies is Michael Gove, one time friend of Boris! A more down to earth set of figures has also emerged in the last few days focusing on a totally different set of uses. It appears that Theresa May committed the nation to spending £140m simply to hold a snap general election so that her majority could be improved. Although she did not get the outcome she sought and although she called the election against the will of the British public, no one in Parliament actually challenged her decision. Indeed the opposite was true, the opposition parties simply welcomed the opportunity for us to all vote for our preferred Government. In the case of this years election if one looks at matters tactically, they were spot on, however the money got spent irrespective of who or what benefits. The fact is that one women can come to a lectern hastily erected in the middle of Downing Street and a cheque gets written to the tune of £140m. The same woman has recently agreed to lift the cap on public sector pay rises, providing that the money is found from their existing budgets. The two public sector bodies that are due to benefit are the Police and the Prison Service. One of the elements of the provision for the police will be a bonus of 1% paid to all officers and staff. The Home Office has costed this at £30m so rather than demand this comes from police resources, had the election not be called, police officers could have received a 4.75% bonus from the same money tree that paid for the election. Alternatively a wider group of people could all have received a bonus at a lower percentage. The way in which public money is found easily for some actions and unable to be found for others raises enormous questions about how our nation is run. We need accountable leaders, not those who choose to spend or promise money that is ours in the first place. Even the EU savings that Boris is promising to go to the NHS are our money. What right did he have to put the figure on the side of the bus or promise it in his Telegraph article which he no doubt got well paid for. We need a Government that sets out priorities and manages the nation to deliver on them, not chops and changes every few weeks.