AIBU to be surprised by MPs earning £98k plus expenses?

Honestly, I think it should be a lot higher.

Smart people can earn a lot more than this, without having to reapply for their job at every general election. I think this salary is part of the reason that we have such poor MPs.

I'm surprised that many people think MP's salaries are too low. There aren't many jobs which require no relevant experience or qualifications but pay a starting salary of £98.5K plus free accommodation in London and travel expenses. Then, there are opportunities for promotion.

Compare that with the lot of a junior doctor. Starting salary of roughly £40K, insanely long working hours, life or death responsibility, frequent rota changes and the requirement to pay thousands of pounds of your own money to sit professional exams in order to progress in your career. And also having to somehow find the time to study for said exams.

I think an MP’s salary is too low. I also think a junior doctor’s salary is too low. Both can be true.

They get a fat pension I think even if they only do the job briefly

This post just demonstrates that you don't understand what MPs do, what a lot of them give up to do it, and how long it can take to get elected first time.

Plus the death threats. Which are appalling.

@WhisperingHi Overall, people who are intelligent and can think through policies are not in Parliament. It’s not worth it for them. I’m absolutely certain some MPs work hard but they are not all suitable to be ministers and that’s what we need. Far too many are just representing a few noisy minorities and others are not represented. This activity takes up too much time and they then are not engaged in legislative activities as they should be.

Most MPs campaign about something for someone. However they take the party whip and have to stick within party guidelines. Except the odd rebellion of course. Overall we have far too many MPs without a business or science background and they are often too young to know much at all.

Performance appraisals and job descriptions?

are you mad OP?

If you dont like your MP, dont vote for them

if you passionately about an issue, write to them

yes of course intelligent people earn £35k but nowadays, that’s a second jobber salary. Do we want 28 year olds running the country?

No thanks. I want someone whose run a business or been a lawyer or managed a charity

It's far from uncommon for doctors and other frontline healthcare staff to be threatened and physically assaulted.

Some prospective parliamentary candidates do indeed give up a lot of time to try and get elected, especially in the year before the election. I know that some attend a lot of hustings, including ones in which the candidates outnumber the audience. But this process is not as rigorous as a five-year medical degree. And some lucky PPCs get parachuted into safe seats.

I'm not saying that MPs don't work hard (although there are clearly some who don't), just that there are a lot of people in the UK working demanding jobs which pay vastly less. And some of these jobs are also physically risky.

And they should be paid more too.

@cattenberg, do you not appreciate that most professionals spend more than five years qualifying?

How many doctors have been murdered in recent times?

Airey Neave
Robert Bradford
Anthony Berry
Ian Gow
Jo Cox
David Amess
Ann Widdecombe

May they rest in peace.

@BugJuice ? Doctors have had a 30.% pay rise. Have you not been in the country for 2 years? Consultants start on £110,000 so more than a MP. Responsibility, yes, but nowhere near the hours and travel. Also part time working very possible. No such thing as a part time mp - well Nigel Farage excepted! These jobs are both important to society but we cannot pay people on who gets killed.

I would be a better MP than just about anyone in the HOC.

The last thing we need is more solicitors and charity people as MPs. We need more people that have experience in working in the real world. We used to have factory workers becoming MPs, where are their equivalent today?

Do you really think tea bags and milk are all the expenses they have?

I’d have half the number of MPs but double the salary, it’s one hell of a job.

Consultants start on £110,000 so more than a MP.

But no doctor starts as a consultant. If you start a medical degree at 18, and all goes well, you can expect to become a consultant in your 30s.

MPs can progress to ministerial roles. The salaries for these vary but are all more than £120,000. (However, not all ministers claim the additional ministerial amount they’re entitled to - it’s complicated).

Absolutely agree! One of the reasons we have such poor representation in the uk is that our MPs are paid so poorly compared to other professions and their work environment is so toxic you have to have the hide of a rhinoceros to want do it and therefore the wrong people are taking up
the positions. Pay better and get better candidates I say! And only let them become MPs after they have had twenty years or so work experience outside of Westminster. No career politicians allowed.

We have Angela Raynor as a prototype. I suspect we may not wish to recreate the mould.

@Cattenberg And no one at 25 starts as an MP! The whole point is that you gain experience and knowledge to do both jobs. So they are comparable. The majority of MPs are aged over 50. Very few are under 30. They are definitely too young.

I'd pay them more but 100% no second jobs. Our last MP was very good at using his position to get lucrative consultancy positions (£6k for 3 hours work) bloody useless at being an MP. We kicked him out but not quickly enough. We need decent, capable MPs and they can't rely on previous wealth earned to live, we have to provide them with a decent salary for the job they are supposed to do. Dh wanted to be an MP - apart from the massive pay cut he'd take - no way did I want all the rest of the crap that went with being a public figure.

You don't actually need relevant experience or qualifications to become an MP. Mhairi Black become one at 20. Many do go into politics as a second career, but that doesn't necessarily mean their first career gave them the transferable skills to become an effective MP. Many people in the entertainment industry have had a crack at it - including Katie Price!

I earn 70k for doing very little! I mean I do have technical skills and qualifications, but I don't manage people, WFH and have a very low stress role. 98k is NOT a lot of money to be an MP and have all the associated grief that comes with it.

It is a lot more than most people in this country earn.

No way I'd do it for 98k.

I work for a local paper and see what they're actually doing. I wouldn't do it for double that.