More sponging bastids

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7841702.stm

Gordon Brown is to order Labour MPs to back a controversial plan to exempt details of MPs’ expenses from the Freedom of Information Act.

The prime minister will impose a three-line whip on the vote, raising the prospect of a backbench rebellion.

Ministers say disclosing details has to be affordable but critics accuse them of a plot to conceal MPs’ expenses.

Speaking of which, you on the dole yet?

😉

No dole for me sonny…..

erm I don’t agree with exempting MPs from the freedom of Information act but that doesn’t make anyone a ‘sponging bastid’. Most MPs work hard and most of the money going on expenses goes to running constituency offices and employing staff.

Personally I think we should be more concerned about attendance records, work done, and directorships and consultancies etc. And yes there might be a good case for paying them more and cutting down on allowances for living expenses.

andym
– most people don’t get unreceipted expenses
– most people don’t get final salary pensions
– most people don’t get subsidised catering facilities
– most pople who work away from home don’t get second house allowances
– most people don’t get as many holidays
– most people have to ge explicit permission for second jobs and are contracted to work a minimum number of hours in their ‘main’ employment
– …..

the public sector ‘ethic’ appears to be
– we want the same salary
(but we also want to keep our better expenses, job security, final salary pension, sickness benefits etc etc)

Presumably as we now have lots of private sector companies doing the good old pay cut or job cuts option I will soon hear the public sector clamouring to get the same deal, as that way the whole country would save money …

Kind of agree with the above points but the fact remains that MP’s don’t get paid enough. All these dodgy expenses claims are there becuas ethe general public wouldn’t agree to a reaosnable wage given the responsibility.

Look at any PLC and the directors get 3 or 4 times what our front benchers get. The england football manager gets £5 million a year ffs! And yet we pay the leader of the country a couple of hundred grand. Madness.

The reason why our politicians are muppets is because only independantly wealthy eton toffs like Cameron are willing to take a huge pay cut and work for the Government.

I’ll await a flaming but heard it all before and think you’re all wrong!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7842402.stm

Browns backed down now anyway.

No flaming from me ridethelakes, what you’re saying is essentially correct IMO

gusamc

– most people don’t get unreceipted expenses

IIRC MPs accounts are subject to audit and scrutiny

– most people don’t get final salary pensions

Up until quite recently most reputable employers did offer final salary pensions.

– most people don’t get subsidised catering facilities

and?

– most pople who work away from home don’t get second house allowances

Most people don’t work full-time in a second city. Again most reputable employers pay subsistence allowance or expenses to people working away from home.

– most people don’t get as many holidays

The fact that Parliament isn’t sitting doesn’t mean MPs aren’t working.

– most people have to ge explicit permission for second jobs and are contracted to work a minimum number of hours in their ‘main’ employment

I agree with that one. I don’t believe MPs should be allowed to have second jobs – and in truth most don’t.

Bottom line. If you treat MPs with contempt and pay them relatively poorly then you are going to deter the best and most able people from standing for Parliament. do you think that would be a good thing?

I’d be happy to pay them 10x as much if there was 10x less of them.

The reason why our politicians are muppets is because only independantly wealthy eton toffs like Cameron are willing to take a huge pay cut and work for the Government.

No, the reason that politicians now days are mainly muppets is because its not too bad a way to earn a living and hence we now have ‘professional MPs’, folk who have spent their entire lives working towards just being an MP rather than go out in the real world, do a proper job (which in turn gives them some insight into how the world outside the Palace of Westminster really works) and then go for office after their successful career gives them funds to fall back on.

MP’s don’t get paid enough

I know plenty of people who appear to be better qualified with more experience than many MPs but get paid a lot less.

Look at any PLC and the directors get 3 or 4 times what our front benchers get.

Possibly front benchers are equivalent to directors of PLCs but I certainly don’t assume it. Anyway, most front benchers use that to get onto the boards of PLCs later and earn the kind of money that they may not have been able to without their front bench experience.

gusamc – Member
andym
– most people don’t get unreceipted expenses
– most people don’t get final salary pensions
– most people don’t get subsidised catering facilities
– most pople who work away from home don’t get second house allowances
– most people don’t get as many holidays
– most people have to ge explicit permission for second jobs and are contracted to work a minimum number of hours in their ‘main’ employment

– most people don’t have what it takes to become an MP.

– most people don’t have what it takes to become an MP.

True. Most people are decent and honest.

most people don’t have what it takes to become an MP.

Whilst that’s true, in the same sense that most people don’t have what it takes to be all sorts of things, the average back bench MP is nothing special. I’d be interested to see what the average MP earnt before and after having a stint in parliament.

I think if you’re taking on that role there should be accountability across the board – something that’s sadly lacking!

the argument over whether MPs deserve their pay or not is irrelevant
if they have nothing to hide they should be happy to publish their expenses
what sickens me is that brown and cameron were happy to collude in this, until cameron pulled out- he now has a lot of torries very pissed at him

basicaly i have to vote for 1 of these tossers and i trust neither!!

This is always quite interesting, nobody has mentioned what they actually get paid so if anybody is interested there it is below, not bad if you ask me plus all those nice expenses.

What is the annual salary of an MP?
£63,291 as of 1 April 2008

How much does the Prime Minister get paid?
£194,250 (including MP’s salary of £63,291) from 1 April 2008

How much do Cabinet Ministers get paid?
£141,866 (including MP’s salary of £63,291) from 1 April 2008

How much do Select Committee Chairmen get paid?
£77,330 (including MP’s salary of £63,291) from 1 April 2008

How much does the Speaker get paid?
£141,866 (including MP’s salary of £63,291) from 1 April 2008.

Do MPs have their own pension scheme?
Yes they do – a final salary scheme with a current accrual rate of 1/40th. It is a contributory pension with the contribution rate set at 10 per cent of salary.

basicaly i have to vote for 1 of these tossers and i trust neither!!

No, you don’t have to vote for ‘one of these tossers’ – you can vote for someone else.

What you mean to say is, “basically most people want to vote for one of these tossers”.

Not the same thing at all.

Do MPs have their own pension scheme?
Yes they do – a final salary scheme with a current accrual rate of 1/40th

So that’s worth about another 40% of pay.

Shame Gordon destroyed everyone else’s pensions when he was Chancellor.