On 10 Jul 2013 at 11:24pm Insomniac wrote:
I see MPs have been awarded a 6k payrise.
Are they just goading us?
On 10 Jul 2013 at 11:58pm Compass wrote:
It's 11 but really 9 !!
On 11 Jul 2013 at 7:16am Clifford wrote:
Either don't vote for any of them - or only vote for candidates who say they won't take more than 1%.
On 11 Jul 2013 at 8:39am Pete wrote:
If we don't vote for them, who's going to be our MP ?
On 11 Jul 2013 at 8:52am Normans Wisdom wrote:
Norman is worth it though.
On 11 Jul 2013 at 10:24am Knoxon Cutts wrote:
I'd rather not have an MP than have one who does not represent me.Did you know that the model for the European Parliament is the old communist one that the USSR had? Curious that isn't it?
On 11 Jul 2013 at 12:04pm Clifford wrote:
Just out of interest Knoxon Cutts, can you tell us in what way the European Parliament was modelled on what the Soviet Union had? And I assume you are also saying that the European Parliament operates under the instructions of one party?
On 11 Jul 2013 at 1:33pm belladonna wrote:
I think we all need to bombard our MP with calls, emails, letters asking him whether he intends to take a 10 percent pay rise, and why he is worth it and other public sector workers are subject to a pay freeze. Most private sector workers seem to be getting 1 or 2 percent, which given inflation is a cut in wages.
On 11 Jul 2013 at 3:31pm xplorer1 wrote:
Everyone seems to be overlooking or ignoring the fact that this award has been recommended by an independent body set up specifically to do the job, and that the increase will be offset by a reduction in benefits such as pension and resettlement funds (for when they lose their seat and have to find other means of earning a living).
Most MP's are talented individuals who could earn more in the private sector and take on a very difficult job, which also disrupts their family lives, for the best of motivations.
Do you really want the situation to arise where the only people willing to do the job are the independently wealthy (think what party and parts of society they'd support)?
On 11 Jul 2013 at 9:51pm Insomniac wrote:
Yeah, that’s all well and good, but my wages aren’t subject to an independent review body, are yours? It doesn’t matter how hard I work, or how good I am, these are austere times – I’m not going to get a pay rise. MPs however have found a mechanism to ensure their wages aren’t administered the same way as everybody else’s – they don’t want their wages to be a part of the market economy, and they’ll never be capped at a maximum 1%/year like the lower tiers of the public sector either.
And do you know exactly how ‘independent’ that review board is?
The value of their worth in the private sector is a fallacy too, the only highly paid jobs ex MPs go into are the ones with companies they’ve awarded incredibly lucrative government contracts to. Or they get jobs on the boards of companies who want someone with contacts in government. Their worth in the private sector is only because they were MPs, they would never have got those jobs if they were n’t.
I’d do an MPs job for half of what they currently get, it’s a golden ticket to hospitality, endless freebies, a secure future and I’d experience a degree of power I’ll never get in my current job.
And I know I could do a much better job of it than any of they could do mine. If you don’t think you could, you’re seriously lacking self confidence.
On 12 Jul 2013 at 12:20am boggles wrote:
That £6,000 increase is greater than the rate of inflation, AND more than the jobseekers' allowance. Write Norman and ask if he'll forgo it. It doesn't take place until after the next election, I think, so may be he won't get back in.
On 12 Jul 2013 at 3:16pm Knoxon Cutts wrote:
Clifford, EU truth.org has a lot of stuff about it.I read about it ages ago in a piece written by a soviet dissident.