General Chat

if you have to live on £81,000 pa, according to MP Peter Bottomley!

I can’t imagine his constituents being happy with that little statement. :-0

I wouldn't mind changing places with him - or at least not changing places but swapping income. Let's see how he would manage on a quarter of that income.

Kath. x

That is not all beer money though, is it?

As far as I know, the money an MP is paid has to fund admin and research costs, including salaries for those who carry this out and the need for a home in the constituency.

If they were not paid enough to fund these things we might not have any MPs who were not already minted themselves and they really would have no bloody idea.

That's their basic salary Sharron. They get extra for employing staff and running their offices and to pay for somewhere to live in London and travelling between there and home.

Kath. x

And I wonder if his wife, Virginia (remember her as an MP?) is on his staff? There was eventually a rule that forbade employing a relly but if that relly has a company that is in the employ of the MP. ……..

I wonder, too, whether he has shot himself in the foot or whether he is fed up with being an MP because his constituents may well be aghast at his latest little belief. Personally, I would ask if he was fit enough in every capacity to continue in that job.

I am sure you are right, Kathleen. I was shooting from the hip there.

..Then there are expenses paid, subsidised bars and restaurants in the House of Commons, money to decorate etc etc
He also:

Consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability

Almost always voted against raising welfare benefits at least in line with prices

Consistently voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits

and he didn't want the £20 UC kept.
That £20 probably doesn't cover his (subsidised) bar tab for a night - but may mean the difference between food or heat to many. :-(

A household income of £81,000 would be a distant dream for most people. A household income of £162,000 I would like winning the lottery.

We have some MPs of the poorest calibre, I think - and I think we deserve better, bearing in mind that the majority of the electorate seem to manage to live on less than £81k pa which rather puts Bottomley's economic and financial acumen to shame.

Sadly, the calibre of our MPs is decided by the caiibre of those who choose to stand.

We can all stand in the pub and run the country.

Agree, Sharron, but a simple IQ test would help!

I mean, a PM who fails to understand the difference between culling and killing for slaughter!
The Cummings fiasco.
Not thinking it's important to attend Cobra eetings
Whaffling over lockdowns - ignoring experts etc etc.

Dominic Raab, whilst Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs , not understanding how important Calais was to our exports/imports
Then, as Secretary of State for Justice, not understanding what'misogyny' is

Then theres Chris Grayling, Matt Hancock and Liz Truss - their failings would take too long to list!

We could get rid of them all and go feral ;-)

Sometimes those who choose to stand don't stand a cat in hell's chance as many parties have already quietly pre-selected who they want to represent them.

He is slightly younger than I am. He needs to quit now while he's ahead and before anyone wonders whether he's going gaga as he can't manage on that salary! My heart is bleeding for him and his missus having to cope with that and an MPs pension and government pensions each and anything else coming in from whichever pies their fingers are in. (Before anyone responds, I do know that the government 'old age pension' is reduced accordingly if you have another source of government pension/superann.)

I have always been a swinging voter but at the moment, Starmer is looking better and better - if only he can shake the unions from his back, he may stand a chance next time around. I have nothing against unions - I admire the earlier ones for what they have done for women and I have been in a couple for most of my working life - but they ought not to dominate a party vote.

It took me a while to warm to Starmer but more and more I am beginning to think he ought to be given a chance - particularly in the light of the latest Tory shower we have to contend with! Pearls of wisdom do not come naturally to them.

I think the reason a lot of MP's think they are badly done to where their salaries are concerned is that a lot of them (especially Tory MP's) have come from top jobs where they were probably earning hundreds of thousands a year so an MP's salary seems like very little to them.

Kath. x

Sadly, our lorry drivers have always put their trust in their union to look after their interests without making much fuss themselves and, finding that their quite specialist needs were not, quietly drifted into other employment.

Unfortunately, not enough of them had stepped up to be involved in local government and been able to represent their interests at planning meetings.

Kathleen, many MPs stilll have these highly salaried jobs!

In reality, if Bottomley can't afford to live on his salary - he should go and get another job - you know, like 'normal' people are expected to do.

If Bottomley cannot afford to live on his salary then how about a non executive directorship. They earn £20,000 for as little as four days work a year. A couple of them and he’d be laughing.