Is it not reasonable to expect MPs...

...to stick to their one, £80k plus expenses job as an MP and be legally barred from working for anyone else?

Just an idea like...

 

shame to sat it but 80k isn't really enough, I work with many who earn much more than that with a lot less grief/responsibility

 

On the face of it. You'd think it's not an unreasonable ask. That expenses are still ridiculous, that assisting family members is still in excess of what it should be and that £80k as an MP and circa £140k-£150k to a cabinet member is a decent chunk of money.

But...

The house of commons is essentially a legislature. Creating laws and approving laws. Granted in line with policies it creates, but it is there to create law.

If you were a full equity partner at a magic circle firm serving clients and working within those laws, your annual salary in an ok year would probably be around £750k. A good year, the top law firm partners can earn £1m.

You could be a CEO, or MD, or take multiple NED roles, or advisory roles or lead charities or create your own business and earn all sorts of money that is far in excess of what can be earned at Westminster.

I've thought for a long time that MPs aren't paid enough for what they do (or should be doing) and the newer security risks they face and how publicly they are in our domain.

The flipside to a significant pay rise however should be complete reform of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. In my bubble I've been sharing the disgraceful acts of cronyism that have been going on for time and memorial and have increased at a rate of knots the last 2 years. It's perhaps telling the media are only now starting to pay attention and give it coverage.

What we shouldn't have is something like we've seen with Sajid Javid and particularly Geoffrey Cox. Working significant hours that aren't benefitting constituents or improving the legislature and earning far in excess of what their ministerial salary is.

Nor should we have something like we have with IDS, where he oversaw a committee that approved something which directly benefitted a company he was "advising".

How we get to something that is open, transparent, fair, is in the best interest of the taxpayer and constituents, while rewarding MPs for doing what right, I really don't know. But it's not going to come from this government and this ruling party.

 

There's at least one MP that works as a GP. Probably a few others that work for the NHS as well. Not sure why they should suffer because of the tory MPs that want to line their pockets.

I don't think the issue is whether 2nd jobs should be allowed, but the Governance around what is allowable.

The level of whatabouttery that I've seen from various right wing rags and political commentators has gone onto another level. The Spectator ran a story to highlight that David Lammy has charged fees for being a guest speaker at various company events, because of course, that's the same as the dealings of Paterson and Cox. There was a section of the Politics Show, which had Alastair Campbell on. Of course the Tory on the panel would respond to anything with, "but Blair", assuming that anything Blair did makes anything they do now as ok. Then the presenter pulled him up on something complementary that he'd said about John Major with "but in 1994 you said..." 1994! A debate about the conduct of current MPs was dragged into a quote that somebody made 27 years ago.

 

It’s an easy solution.

Tie MPS pay to Median Wage. X 3
All research / support staff to come from a central civil service pool allocated at random.
Purchase a central London Hotel and all MPs can stay free whilst commons is sitting (end 2nd home flipping)
Expenses to be limited to normal work expenses like you and me would claim.
Ban all second jobs/ lobbying other than on a pre agreed list to include Doctors/ nurses etc.

You can end corruption and conflict of interest tomorrow if you wanted to.

 

There's a fine line. It needs to be well enough paid to ensure that it is not a profession reserved for the independently wealthy, but also not so well paid that people go into it purely for the money rather than on principle and to effect change. I think £80k is about right when you factor in expenses etc.

 

I’d pay MPs £200k per year but make sure that’s their only income.

 

I'd have some form of sliding scale, some get additional amounts for sitting on or chairing sub committees and obviously additional amounts for cabinet and shadow cabinet roles.

As much as it pains me given the current incumbent, a salary of £161k for such a pressurised important job isn't enough. Even more so if you choose £800 a roll wallpaper!

 

What about imposing a maximum on their ‘other income’ say £20,000 a year. That way they could still keep up to date with what’s happening in their other profession without the obscene other payments

 

I would not pay some of these sleazy characters out in copper washers if you paid them £200,000 they would still give their mates multi-million-pound government contracts, and the more they have the more they want, look at say Ian Duncan donuts Smith, he's a consultant to a hand sanitizing firm WTF doe's he know about hand sanitizing all the sleazeballs seam to be millionaires in their own right. And as for Foghorn Cox going to work for a Tax havan government in the Caribbean for £800,000 words cannot express my feelings.

 

Personally, I think conscientious MPs deserve more than that; they work long hours 7 days a week and get loads of grief from all sides. I certainly wouldn't do it. However, I agree entirely that they should only be allowed one job - unless of course their second job is being a minister of state in the government, or they do voluntary work, say in a hospital or for a charity.

No MP should be allowed to take "consultancies" doing "5 days a year" for £50,000.....

 

So you would give these sleazy gits above a 100% rise of taxpayers money while the Nurses and the rest of the public workers have to put up with a poultry rise of around 2% which will be taken away by (billionaire) Richie Sunaks tax rises in real terms it's a loss of income.
90% or thereabouts of second job income is claimed by the Tory party M.P's it stinks.

 

Bottom line is that MPs themselves should bring a law in saying that all future MPs should only have one paid job/ institutional job then they themselves could debate the remuneration/ allowances that would come within that.
They wont do that though because too many of them want to have other jobs on the side

 

I would. But I'd expect huge changes to their job in return.
No second jobs allowed (except a set list such as doctors as previously mentioned)
Any second home is their own problem, not an expenses issue.
Each constituency has a set office that stays the same location regardless of who is the current MP.
Significantly reduce in person parliament. Majority to be done virtually with each constituency office having a link to parliament. The seats within the houses of parliament could have a screen in front of them with the MPs face on it along with a light or other indicator for when an MP wishes to speak. The speaker of the house of commons would look at these screens and allow someone to speak in the same way he does now.
MPs to demonstrate via the filling in of a daily log that they are fulfilling a minimum 37.5 hour week actually working as an MP.
Family members banned from working for an MP so no more husbands and wives being the secretary on whatever wages they choose.
Any MP found to have told a lie in office or in their campaign prior to becoming elected to face criminal chargers. Sentencing guidelines to be a prison sentence.
Any MP found to have broken any rules such as lobbying etc to also face criminal charges. Sentencing guidelines minimum 2 years in prison.

Give them a pay rise but in return they lose any ability to earn more money. No conflicts of interest (financially). More accountability for their actions and more proof of actually working with more time to do it due to a much reduced waste of time and money traveling to London. Also much better for the environment

 

Keep it simple, MP first and foremost, higher expected attendance than current.
2nd jobs/income have to be cleared by an independent body, that factors in things like conflict of interest, ability to be an MP etc.

 

Dennis skinner was right with these tories

 

On one hand 80k isn't enough.

On the other hand, an extra £20 a week was too much in Universal Credit so that was quickly removed.

Complete scum.

 

I'm a supermarket manager, essentially I get paid to motivate a team to put food on shelves as efficiently as they can, build a sustainable future team whilst optimising customer service, achieving a number of financial kpi's and maintain legalities. It's not rocket science, I didn't go to Uni and I earn a lot more that some doctors and most nurses, not quite an MP.
I don't save lives, I don't risk mine, I sell beans.
Do medical pros amongst others deserve more? Course they do. Am I gonna give some of mine up? Hell no. Doesn't make it right, but it's just the way it is.
But it's always been that way and always will, u can't compare one random job with another, right or wrong it just doesn't work like that.
For what it's worth, it's already been mentioned, I'd pay MPs double, maybe more, what they're on now, but that's it, no second jobs, if they want to keep their hand in on another career, do it for free.
Lots of independent checks and balance, no policing themselves and if they're corrupt they're jailed and banned from office for life. Needs to be some form of performance management on them, same as most other walks of life that would be earning that kind of salary.
But again, it won't happen, I think it's just accepted in most democracies the leaders are, to varying degrees, corrupt. At
least the dictators and military lot are up front about it.
Jeez, that's depressing.

 

Pretty much spot on.