to be upset that "we are not all in this together" i.e Skiing in Switzerland with George Osbourne

[FishKebabs]

It makes me upset to read that the likes of George Osbourne & Zac Goldsmith are currently enjoying lavish holidays in the Caribbean (8k a week villa) & Klosters, Switzerland with their families when these very people are telling us that we are all in this together. Clearly they are not in this together, they are enjoying privileged lifestyles whilst we are seeing increases in our fuel,vat, cutbacks just about everywhere, increased railfares, this is highly insensitive conduct my our MP's but not surprising as most are out of touch with reality.

YABVU and GAG! :)

They are independently wealthy and will not be borrowing from the public purse to pay for their holidays.

I'm off skiing in a fortnight - and I won't be donating my holiday to the poor either! :)

But you didn't make public cuts and then claim we're all in it together, AlpinePony.

Did you?

Yes but are you a Tory politician Alpine?

Are you spouting "Big Society" philosophy and "We are all in this together"?

If you are YABVU.

If not, I don't care and have a lovely time on your skiing holiday!

'We're trying to convince you that he shouldn't have said "We're all in this together".

Or that, because he did say it, he should have gone to Butlin's.'

Ok, I do see your point, although I think he was referring to curbing the central government excesses more than what he chooses to spend his wages on.

It certainly wouldn't make any of us richer for him to tone down his lifestyle. It's more important for me that he tones down the excesses of central government civil service spending. And before I get flamed, I mean things like the first class travel, £800 christmas trees, evian on the tables in meetings, quango meetings held in posh hotels, £4000 sofas for buildings - not cuts to front line essentials.

"your all in it together" whilst we will carry on as before - ok

thats the real slogan between the lines

Think the fuel protesters should barrickade downing street when they get home, see how they like walking for a change

Also agree with Prinnie.

It is like there is one rule for one set of public servants [politicians] with their first class train travel, taxis, posh hotels, etc [I can understand that DC and GO perhaps need these due to their high profile but surely not the bog standard unrecognisable Tory politician] and another for the vital frontline service public servants.

I know this has always happened but it is not right and in these austerity times it is completely unreasonable and unethical.

Pmsl at George Osbourne needing to use his wages to go on holiday with

yabu- it would be bloody awful to go on holiday with George Osborne, he's a knob.

yanbu to hate being told to soak up the cuts for the national good when these Old Etonions are poncing around on their inherited wealth and completely impervious to ANY of the dire effects of what they are inflicting on the rest of us.

It is right that in these times they are seen to curb exceessive spending on things like travel etc.

However, I want my MPs esp my PM to be a man or woman who is cleverer than me, who has a great political brain (whatever that persuasion) and who would be a very high earner if they were in the private sector.

So if we make it so dire to be a political servant then the brightest and the best wont do it. It's all very well to say public service should be its own reward but in the real world that's bollocks!

YABU to think they were ever in anything with the majority, Osbourne, Cameron etc are a wealthy elite.

I think this is really shitty PR though, for the sake of image they should have sacrificed expensive holidays this festive season.

Yes montysorry but other public servants are basically being told that public service is it's own reward - wage freezes, etc...

Don't you want bright and able people working as nurses, police, etc? And who feel valued and rewarded for what they do for society?

I think it is terrible. Tony Blair never had expensive holidays. Never engineered priviledge education for his children whilst lecturing others. Never financially exploited his position. Nor did his wife. Or Peter mandleson. Or two jags Prescott.

Err...

I love the good guy bad guy approach to political ethics when they all look pretty similar from where I sit.
Depressing as fuck and less attractive than the boo hiss pantomine we seem to wrap around anyone who smells of inherited wealth.

If people think they can do a better job than the politicians we have at the moment then they should get involved.

I don't mind where MPs and Ministers go on holiday or how much it costs & actually their salaries are not that high in comparison to some (GPs, bankers etc.)

I do find it somewhat hypocritical that the minority have higher expections of of the disadvantaged and poor that they have of their own families e.g. MPs and Ministers with SAHWs / Hs / Ps who berate people experiencing poor education and public services, expecting people to place young children in long hours of childcare to work in low skilled / low paid jobs when they have a SAHW and drive past 5 / 10 schools to go to a favoured state school etc.

Having said that the majority of Ministers work their socks off and absolutely live politics. Imagine finishing work late in the evening and then taking the Red Box home to clear overnight. If we think we could do a better job we should get off Mumsnet and get out there.

I am a public servant-I teach 3 days a week.
My comment was not really about how they act/what they should do at this moment but just a general comment on how, even when things are good, we want to pay them 20k a year.

Tony Blair never had expensive holidays - what???

He certainly did first class aswell

IIvykat.

Did you not get the sarcasm?

Read it again eh

Pag was being sarcastic ivy!

For me it is not party political at all, I think Tony Blair got away with doing all of those because the country was in growth. When we're a buoyant growing economy people don't mind what politicians are doing - Tory, lab, lib dem, whatever.

However, after implementing a programme of the worst cuts seen since the 30s then all politicians should be making a public show of austerity and if they're not they should at least be spending 8k week on renting out a UK property.

Montysorry I agree, if you pay an MP less than a Head Teacher and a Secretary of State less than a successful Partner in a law firm it is bound to attract some people with the time and money to devote themselves to the groundwork expected.

Umm.. lots of people work late in the evening and take work home to clear overnight. This does not make politicians unique LadyLapsang...

Montysorry - I do not want to pay politicians £20,000 a year but feel they should be paid in accordance with others in the public sector, ie in accordance with their responsibilities and managerial duties. Then all the perks and extras need to go - so they can travel first class if they wish to do so but pay for it from their wages not the public purse.
They are public servants and we pay their wages. They are meant to be setting an example to the rest of us [as our 'ruling class'] and there should not be special compensations available to them that are not available [rightly so] to other public service staff.

Quite! People like George Osbourne go into politics because they can afford to.

Of course you need ideology and a desire to change things but you also need to pay the bills. And yes I know a huge chunk of the country is living on 30k or less but those who tend to enter politics often have an earning power closer to 200k.

Whatever you think of the politic or ethics of people like Blair or Thatcher, I want people like them to be my PM; whether I agree with their politics or not.

Montysorry - what is it about Tony Blair and Thatcher that makes you want them to be your PM? Neither would be my first choice, not sure that either are seen as having left a particularly positive legacy for the people they served

And perhaps it's not such a great thing that rich little boys like George Osbourne can 'afford' to become a politician. Are there any other high level public service positions that can be obtained with nepotism and cronyism without the requisite experience and a certain amount of working your way up the ladder [hopefully then understanding your business/trade from the bottom up]?

Not them in particular but people whose intelligence commands the world stage. People who can converse with other world leaders in their native language.

I want the highest achievers to be in charge of my country.