To be honest I was surprised their base salary is so low. I know a lot of not especially bright or capable people earning significantly more money than that (in financial services) and they’re not elected officals who we charge with the responsibility of running the country. What’s that old saying about monkeys and peanuts?

if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys I think Sam

Surprised how many people on here claim to earn the same or more than that. Thats a load of wedge!

You have convinced me there with your powerful use of logic and reason … Should I insult you back or can we stick to the topic?

As I say they are very well paid relative to the minmum wage and the national average.

Merely expressing an opinion on your motivation – you’ve not answered my point that reducing MPs salaries would creat **** all to give to teachers.

slight hijack – snakebite is your hawg still for sale

Doesn’t matter what they earn, they are still politicians which means they are guilty of dishonest practices, as bribery, lacking integrity, crooked, debased in character, depraved, perverted, wicked, evil and corrupt. False, untrustworthy. DISHONEST, VENAL, without regard to honor, right, or justice. lacking native integrity & totally debased as to sell patronage. They are contaminated, putrescent, rotten and spoiled.

It also means they are inclined to touch animals inappropriately, stroking camels and tasting the fruits of their labors.

..amd if they ride bikes, they’re singlespeeds

No where close…..

and I wonder what the Inland Revenue would make of it if I tried to claim my TV package as a legitimate expense ( never mind the fact that the salaries dept would have a hissy fit if i tried ! )

Mind you, most of use get better redundancy terms than MPs

You think so?
‘A Resettlement Grant to assist with the costs of adjusting to “non-parliamentary life”, is payable to any person who ceases to be an MP at a General Election. The amount is based on age and length of service, and varies between 50% and 100% of the annual salary payable to a Member of Parliament at the time of the Dissolution.’

To be honest I was surprised their base salary is so low. I know a lot of not especially bright or capable people earning significantly more money than that (in financial services) and they’re not elected officals who we charge with the responsibility of running the country. What’s that old saying about monkeys and peanuts?

come to the institute i work at just rated the best in the country for cancer research and ill show you everyone bar the director below an MPs salary

Fortunately, kimbers, a lot of the very best people aren’t motivated solely by money. I’d argue we should be after people like that to be MPs as well…

I don’t know why people have a problem with MP’s pay. For a start it isn’t that much (and no, I don’t earn anywhere near that amount – I’m a scientist).
Secondly, I’d be happy to pay them £1m a year. It would still be a tiny dent in the UK GDP and it might encourage more competition for better candidates (although it could just increase the number of people who get to be MPs by dubious methods I suppose).

i actually agree they should have more pay

rather than pay plus nebulous expenses

what i really object to is the attitude of pickles who claims we should pay for his 2nd home cos he has to be in work by 9-30

kimbers are you working in surrey by any chance 😉
And that is because like me you’ve choose to be a scientist… Hard (sometimes usefull) work poor pay

come to the institute i work at just rated the best in the country for cancer research and ill show you everyone bar the director below an MPs salary

Likewise the software company I work at (a world leader in a niche field) where everyone has degrees in maths, computing or physics and several people have PhDs… only the directors earn MP type money.

Here’s an interesting take on the whole expenses thing. And this is from a guy i know who fraternises with a few of them.

Most MP’s are bricking it about these expenses claims being published. But not because of what it will show about what they’ve been frittering away public money on.

What they’re really crapping it about is that it will show what they’ve been getting up to. Credit card receipts for hotel rooms/restarants etc are going to be seen by wives/husbands/girlfriends who are going to say “you said you were in Southampton that weekend. This says you were at a hotel by lake windermere”

What goes on in public is going to be the last of their worries. Expect a raft of divorced MP’s very soon.

I cant wait for it. If you work for the public you should do so in the eye of the public.

MPs earning the basic salary do not run the country – and MPs in the government tend to earn rather better. As a reality check, 90% of the UK population earns less than £40k and 50% earns less than £24k.

I’d have thought a useful check would be to compare an MPs salary with their income before being an MP. And also afterwards – I daresay it’s a useful addition to anyone’s career path!

What they’re really crapping it about is that it will show what they’ve been getting up to. Credit card receipts for hotel rooms/restarants etc are going to be seen by wives/husbands/girlfriends who are going to say “you said you were in Southampton that weekend. This says you were at a hotel by lake windermere”

I thought that the MPs were allowed to vet the data before it’s released and then run a big black line through anything they deemed was not in the publics interest. Apart from that being a joke anyway, does that not allow them to hide events such as weekends away banging the secretary in Windermere?