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Post by Patrick on Jun 3, 2009 10:03:48 GMT
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Post by housesparrow on Jun 3, 2009 10:33:48 GMT
I was disturbed to read an article in the Sunday Times a couple of weeks ago by an MP saying that members were encouraged to treat their expenses as a legitimate top-up of their salaries; they were told how to make a claim and work things to their advantage. The writer seemed to regard £60,000 a year as a ridiculously low salary for the work of an MP.
If the (pensionable) salary is too low, then persuade parliament to raise it, and then pay tax on it like everyone else.
The idea of fiddling expneses has always appalled me. I left a job once when my boss saw my travel claim and complained it was too low, thus showing the rest of the staff up as cheats.
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Post by jean on Jun 3, 2009 15:01:24 GMT
If the (pensionable) salary is too low, then persuade parliament to raise it, and then pay tax on it like everyone else. Isn't it true that the Review Body on Top Salaries constantly recommends big increases, and the MPs refuse to accept them, thinking this will make them look better to the electorate. They cannot have foreseen that their preferred solution to the problem would make them look even worse. Credit where it's due, though. Whatever you thought of the Militant Tendency, Terry Fields when elected to Parliament refused to accept any more than he had received in his previous job: 'He was later selected as the Labour Party candidate for Liverpool Broadgreen for the 1983 General Election. A notable feature of his campaign was his promise that, should he win, he would be "a worker's MP on a worker's wage", a promise he kept, drawing only the equivalent of a fireman's wages and donating the balance of his MP's salary to trades union and political causes.' |
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Post by Alpha Hooligan on Jun 3, 2009 15:14:19 GMT
These people don't have the right to "resign" they should be sacked and charged with thieving from the public....instead they decide to "spend more time with their families" after being caught with their hands in the public purse...bastards.  AH |
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Post by Patrick on Jun 3, 2009 15:21:36 GMT
It really shows their true spirit when some of them turn round and say they have been "hurt" by the accusations, or feel they have been "victimised"  I dispute the ideal that we should pay MP's good money to "attract the right candidates". The whole point of Parliament is that it should be open to all and not just the last resting place for every public school boy and ex failed Oxbridge Graduate. On top of the Halls of Residence idea should be permanent Civil Service staff for every MP - paid for centrally, in the Houses of Parliament and one at a Government owed office within the constituency. Then there would be no need for extra homes, no need for extra staff! Everything would be accounted for - and would be available for everyone to see. |
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Post by Alpha Hooligan on Jun 3, 2009 15:25:43 GMT
It really shows their true spirit when some of them turn round and say they have been "hurt" by the accusations, or feel they have been "victimised" Like that stupid tory woman who was bleating about MP's who would commit suicide...these people simply have no shame what so ever. AH |
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Post by jean on Jun 3, 2009 15:59:28 GMT
I dispute the ideal that we should pay MP's good money to "attract the right candidates". The whole point of Parliament is that it should be open to all and not just the last resting place for every public school boy and ex failed Oxbridge Graduate. But it's when you don't pay a reasonable salary* that you only get the ones with a private income, as was the case until the last century. *Whatever that is judged to be - that's the problem. |
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Post by Patrick on Jun 3, 2009 16:07:47 GMT
One is tempted to say that they should do it for the love of their country and wear sackcloth and ashes whilst doing so!  ......but that's a bit mad isn't it!? Blears apparently had a go at Brown for his saying that her expenses were "Unacceptable". A Very very mad person! |
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Post by alanseago on Jun 3, 2009 16:19:39 GMT
I saw her for the first time on TV today. She looks like a miniature Thatcher; quite spoilt my appetite for lunch.
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Post by everso on Jun 3, 2009 17:50:01 GMT
When you put yourself up for election, presumably (and maybe I'm a bit naive here) you are doing it because you want to make a difference, to make things better, to work for your community and possibly your country. That said, MPs deserve a decent wage and the right to claim legitimate expenses, so that carrying out their duties won't beggar them.
At the same time, I think they should be whiter than white, and if they have a history that they don't want us to know about then they shouldn't stand for election. These people are in a position of power and have a great influence on our lives. I don't want some politician telling me how I should live my life when he or she might have a skeleton in his or her cupboard, or is on the fiddle.
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