I for one think MPs should have no outside jobs, ie financial interests requiring work, as I want the MPs working full time and not subject to external influences in their parliamentary roles. If they have an outside business it should be handed over whilst they are an MP.

From the piece attached I don’t think any will be too surprised to see Tory’s with significant outside interests but I was taken aback that George Galloway makes £260,000pa from “TV work”. When you look further it’s £100,000 from an Iranian TV station (ie the government) and a further £90,000 from a Beruit based news agency whose ownership is not disclosed. These sums don’t include travel expenses which are also paid. I just don;t see it as at all appropraite that an MP is paid by Iran state at all and at nearly double the rate he receives as an MP

Guardian Piece

Its a double edged sword IMHO the work thing.
On the one hand if they returned to stack shelves in a supermarket it can keep them grounded and in touch with the real world on their long long holidays. Unfortunately it is often used to make a lot of money and to gain personally
Often it is to gain personally from the public role they did and the contacts they made.

Nadine Dorries – £167,000 last year for writing novels.

I didn’t know such a horror existed.

I prefer them to have jobs. They might have a vague idea about real life that way (and be less likely to fiddle their expenses).

I would prefer them to have work experience but to get that before they stand as MPs

tbh I find that mps have links with companies etc highly dubious.

The system probably should be set up so that if you become and MP, you go full time and must break any links with companies and be barred from joining these companies for say 10 years afterwards.

MPs would obviously need to be compensated for that. But it’d go someway to fighting against the issue of business being disproportionately represented in government and issues being taken on merit rather than for personal gain.

Obviously I’ve just made that up, but you get the jist.

I prefer them to have jobs. They might have a vague idea about real life that way (and be less likely to fiddle their expenses).

I don’t think you get that much grounding in reality, as lived by most people, in the board room of an investment bank

Jambalaya – can I just express my concern that this is us completely agreeing on things again 😉

Another former coalition minister with private sector ties is Mark Prisk, minister of state for housing and local government until last October, who now declares an income of between £15,000 and £20,000 a year from Essential Living, a private rental provider.

Its that kind of glaring conflict of interest that just makes everyone so cynical about politics generally. And if they had anything between their ears, they’d know exactly how corrupt that looks, and maybe even discover a previously unknown sense of embaressment

@binners most don’t get to do that at all or at least not until after they have been a Minister

Mark Prisk, minister of state for housing and local government until last October, who now declares an income of between £15,000 and £20,000 a year from Essential Living, a private rental provider.

£20k a year? Chicken feed

BALDRY, Sir Tony (Banbury)
Deputy Chairman, Woburn Energy plc
Received payment of £3,333 Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 6 February 2013)
Received payment of £3,333 Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 7 May 2013)
Received payment of £3,333 Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 2 April 2013)
etc.
Chairman of Kazakhstan Kagazy plc
Received director’s fees of £10,000. Hours: 24 hrs. (Registered 12 June 2013)
Received director’s fees of £10,000. Hours: 10 hrs. (Registered 10 July 2013)
Received director’s fees of £10,000. Hours: 10 hrs. (Registered 31 July 2013)
etc.