Comments on: MPs pay

By: subrosa

subrosa — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:36:47 +0000

Robert, I think if you spent a month with our troops overseas you would then understand the meaning of working 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.

Are you telling me don’t take holidays? I don’t believe that

By: adam

adam — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:52:49 +0000

Thank you for the reply
I think that would be a good idea. Nobody seems to have noticed that they exist so i assume nobody will complain if they go away again.

By: Adrian Peirson

Adrian Peirson — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:11:52 +0000

I don’t want to give the EU an excuse to close down Parliament but the more I think about it, what do we need it for, I’m quite sure our society would run a lot better without it, just repeal everything back to our Basic Constitution, Magna Carta, Bill of Rights and Common Law, instruct the Police and courts to uphold those principles.
If some company defrauds another, I’m quite sure it is deal with under our constituion, it doedn’t need state intervention, the courts can sort it out.

Then we can all get on with our lives without having MP’s and Civil servants interfering and inventing reasons to fine us and deprive us of our hard earned.

Modern day highwaymen the lot of them.

err Present company excepted of course Mr Redwood.

Yes we need a Small Govt, I’m quite sure the country would run a lot better if they put me in no 10, my election manifesto would be that I promise to stay in bed most of the day watching TV and NOT interfering in peoples lives.

And i’d do that for half of Gordons Salary……Bargain.

I promise to be the Laziest PM this country has ever seen.

I see Alan Johnson is offering a referendum on electoral reform, has he just set himself and the Labour party up, after all, why not a referndum of the Lison ConstiTraityTution.

But then, a referenedum on something that is illegal anyway, I don’t want a referendum, the EU is illegal, we should just tear up the Treaties, they have no legality.

By: alan jutson

alan jutson — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:07:25 +0000

Yes whipped through again.

Once again its the cardboard cut out’s of Westminster slavishly following the leaders request on voting.

What an absolute farce.

If these people do not have any consience, then they should not be in the job.

What is the point of paying an MP if he just does as he is told on all voting matters.

Cardboard cut outs could do the job at no cost.

Good artical by Boris on this very subject in the Telegraph today.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:52:17 +0000

I tried to post an eloquent reply to this using William Hague as an example of an MP who seems to have a lot of time on his hands for other projects but it didn’t seem to come up. I can’t be bothered to write it again but trust me, you would have liked it…

By: Mike Stallard

Mike Stallard — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:52:07 +0000

Yes, if you enter London to make money, you make money.
How about if you enter (as most MPs say they do) to “make a difference”?
How about comparing that with other people who “make a difference”?
Our Parish Priest?
A State School Teacher who likes teaching and pastoral work instead of administration and promotion?
A nurse who actually makes beds and does bedpans? (Not the ones in the suit).

By: John Moss

John Moss — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:22:04 +0000

Robert, A system where each MP was a small business would allow them to manage their costs within th eoverall fee. I am certainly not advocating a restriction to travelling by train.

The main point is that this would make MPs subject to the same rules as everybody else and remove the current situation where they have voted themselves a set of rule which would be illegal for ordinary citizens.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:38:01 +0000

I’m awake now, thanks, good nights sleep last night. Just to take William Hague as an example, he’s managed to write two massive biographies have a number of directorships, does consultancy and makes speeches and he’s on the front bench. Most constituency work involves secretaries writing letters, important letters but neverthess. I think maybe they could work a little harder and read a few more IMF reports and scientific journals. It seems to me that too many MPs don’t actually know enough about policy. And I think the parliament holiday is pretty disgraceful. I get angry when I hear that parliament doesn’t have enough time to debate an issue. On a side note, Ed Milliband (the better Milliband for me) has written a fairly detail-free piece about reform in the Guardian. I agree with most of it but he talks about the language of the Commons. Now ‘the other place’ is silly but I thought much of the language is designed (and works) to keep things from getting too personal and emotional in debates. Far more important to get rid of the confrontational layout of the place I would have thought.

By: Political Ponderer

Political Ponderer — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:19:03 +0000

Quick addendum.

I just took a very quick peek at the ‘government’ section of the online Guardian jobs pages ( a cliche I know).

There are plenty of local government jobs paying over £100k.

One that stood out though, when I was looking for jobs paying a similar amount to MPs:

Assistant Director of Parking Services LONDON BOROUGH OF EALING | Ealing | £62,538 – £66,441 pa inclusive

I mean…come on! The Assistant Director of Arts, Heritage and Libraries earns the same amount.

Then check this one out:

Service Director for Engagement and Enrichment NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL | Nottinghamshire | £78,301 – £87,038 p.a.

What on earth does this person do, I wonder!

If we are genuinely going to cut MPs pay (which cutting expenses without raising pay will effectively do, regardless of what you think abpout that), then there are plenty of other taxpayer funded jobs that need looking at too!

By: Robert

Robert — Mon, 25 May 2009 09:59:28 +0000

I have never heard of non-exec directots passing on their income to their employer – the first time I have heard this in 30 years in finance!