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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think the headline about young MP giving away half her wage is misleading?

198 replies

SarahH12 · 15/12/2019 02:07

A friend shared an article with the headline "Britain's youngest MP vows to only take home £35k of her £79k salary" with lots of comments that it's great she is giving away half her salary.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/britains-youngest-mp-vows-only-21094591?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mirror_main

By the time you take into account tax, NI, pension, possibly student loan etc her take home would be in the region of 40-45k. So whilst it's great she's planning on donating 5-10k and it's a lot more than a lot of people, she is nowhere near giving away "half" her salary. Also she mentions she wants to take home a "working" salary. The average nurse takes home way less than 35k!! I work for the NHS and I don't know a single one of my colleagues who takes home that much.

OP posts:
AlexaShutUp · 15/12/2019 10:35

OP, you sound rather bitter. This young MP is doing a generous thing. Why look for things to criticise?

It seems strange that you have nothing to say about the much wealthier MPs who choose to keep all of their salaries, but you choose instead to pick on the one who is doing her best to share the wealth around and to make a point about how ordinary people live. Yes, she hasn't given away so much that she is living on a TA's salary, but she didn't have to give away any of it.

It must be pretty dismal looking at the world through your eyes.

Letseatgrandma · 15/12/2019 10:38

An MP does a good thing and you moan about them because the press interpret it in a misleading way.

Nice.

iklboodolphrednosedreindeer · 15/12/2019 10:38

She's not responsible for the headline though, is she?

donquixotedelamancha · 15/12/2019 10:54

What I do have a problem with is publicity stunts over donating at best 10k when you have minimal outgoings.

A quick Google suggest she'll take home £54k, so she's giving away almost £20k a year- not half but a very large proportion.

How you can imagine someone who must commute from the Midlands and work in London half the time has minimal outgoings is beyond me.

As PPs have said: how much of your salary do you give away to think this is such a derisory amount that it's just for show? To me this would be a huge sacrifice.

Original poster
SarahH12 · 15/12/2019 11:02

A quick Google suggest she'll take home £54k, so she's giving away almost £20k a year- not half but a very large proportion.

Genuine question, how do you come to that figure? Taking into account pension and student loan I got 45k out of the salary calculator someone posted up thread.

With regards to commuting, I thought they expense that back?

OP posts:
ForalltheSaints · 15/12/2019 11:04

A misleading headline- nothing new.

The real test will come when her expenses claims are published. Though the charities concerned will I am sure welcome the donation.

IHateBlueLights · 15/12/2019 11:06

How churlish and curmudgeonly you sound, OP.

Are you always this unpleasant about nice people?

scarbados · 15/12/2019 11:07

never done this before OP - but here you are Biscuit

TellMeWhoTheVilliansAre · 15/12/2019 11:07

What percentage of your salary do you give to charity OP? I don't donate anywhere near that much from mine. I sponsor different friends at different times throughout the year. But I'd be surprised if I donated even 100 every year. She is donating 10x the amount I do, she is definitely not earning 10x the amount I am.

onceandneveragain · 15/12/2019 11:09

OP. Three points:

First: Your own figures suggest that she will keep £35k after tax. You suggest that the average full time wage in the UK is £27k, although the ONS has said that its actually £36,611 (www.findcourses.co.uk/inspiration/average-salaries-uk/average-uk-salary-2019-15395). In any case, this average wage will be based around 'full time' of approximately 37-40hours. This is always disputed on MN with posters who think nobody works less than 50hrs p/w, but it is factually correct. Emergency services may, unfairly work paid/unpaid overtime but their contracts for their full time roles will be this c.40hours figure. NO MP is working 40 hours a week. Even just the journey from Nottingham to Westminster will be taking her between 2-3 hours each way, every day she does it. If you work her pay out p/h I am very confident it will be similar, or even less than the average wage p/h.

Secondly: In your later posts your outrage moves to the fact that the amount the MP is planning to retain is unfair because she is young and (you assume) 'has minimal outgoings.' This is ridiculous on multiple counts

  • Nobody's wage is based on their outgoings. Why should hers be?
  • How do you know what her outgoings are anyway?
  • You assume that 'Given that she's 23, chances are her outgoings are a lot less than those of us with families.' You CHOSE to have your family, their funding is on you.
  • Furthermore, perhaps as a young single woman, perhaps her outgoings may be less, but so could her income - i.e. she is living on one wage rather than two
  • As she is so young, she is likely to be negatively financially affected by factors such as a very high student loan, increase in house prices compared to salary, that older people would not have
  • Once more: outgoings are completely irrelevant to salary anyway.

Thirdly: as so many other posters have pointed out: SHE HAS NOT GIVEN THE 'HALF HER SALARY' figure. It is a soundbite created by some of the media outlets. Nothing to do with her.

Original poster
SarahH12 · 15/12/2019 11:14

A 6-12% drop of 80k is a lot easier to manage than the same percentage of 20k (for arguments sake). FWIW I give 10% of my gross income. Yeah fine it's not 12% but it's all I can afford after mortgage and bills.

OP posts:
Original poster
SarahH12 · 15/12/2019 11:15

You suggest that the average full time wage in the UK is £27k, although the ONS has said that its actually £36,611

Nope I suggested that was after deductions.

OP posts:
Original poster
SarahH12 · 15/12/2019 11:17

she is likely to be negatively financially affected by factors such as a very high student loan, increase in house prices compared to salary, that older people would not have

I'm young too. I have a ridiculous amount of student loan to pay off and am affected by an increase in house prices compared to salary. I only bought my house last year, things haven't changed that much since then.

OP posts:
tttigress · 15/12/2019 11:18

£35k after tax, that is very misleading.

If it were £35k before tax, it might be worth talking about.

Original poster
SarahH12 · 15/12/2019 11:19

Even just the journey from Nottingham to Westminster will be taking her between 2-3 hours each way, every day she does it

Ahh if only we got paid for the hours we commute. Oh but wait, she doesn't actually have to pay for travel. Most of us have to commute, some of us hours every day (myself included) outside of our usual working hours and pay for the fuel / public transport / car upkeep etc.

OP posts:
Walkaround · 15/12/2019 11:20

Britain's youngest MP could have thought, "Wow. I'm so lucky at this age to have this salary, but this is an extremely insecure job. I think I will save as much as I possibly can while I'm able to, as that might enable me to save for a house deposit, save so I can afford to start a family, save in case I'm unemployed for a while if I lose my seat at the next election, etc." But no, instead she concluded she was elected because she stood on a platform of higher tax, better public services, less inequality, so she needed to hit the floor running in her new role and work on raising awareness about these issues. So she has publicised what she believes in, is putting her money where her mouth is by paying more tax than other people whose take home pay is £35,000 , accepting a role with less job security, understanding or respect than that of a nurse, and instead of saving as much as she can while she can to protect against an uncertain future, she is giving money to good causes in her constituency. Sounds to me like she is being a principled and active MP, not someone who deserves criticism for not donating her salary secretly to no political effect.

TellMeWhoTheVilliansAre · 15/12/2019 11:21

You know what OP, you're right. Shame on her. I hope someone here links this thread to her so she knows to not be do ridiculous and keep her full wage all to herself. As what she is going is just infuriating Joe Public.

IHateBlueLights · 15/12/2019 11:29

Why are you being so unpleasant about this young woman? Did you vote Tory?

What's your reason for behaving like this - you're coming unravelled. Get a grip, please.

Original poster
SarahH12 · 15/12/2019 11:36

Yes I did vote Tory. My voting preferences and who she stands for are of no relevance.

Fair point @Walkaround

OP posts:
IHateBlueLights · 15/12/2019 11:44

Yes I did vote Tory. My voting preferences and who she stands for are of no relevance.

We'll be the judges of that, OP.

FlamingoAndJohn · 15/12/2019 11:53

How is it a publicity stunt? Writing ‘let’s give £350 million a year to hospitals’ on the side of a bus, and then not doing it is a publicity stunt.
Saying you are going to give a chunk of your salary away and then actually doing it is not.

You seem very bitter, twisted and uncharitable, OP like many Tory voters

Wtfdoipick · 15/12/2019 11:56

Have people read the op, the complaint is that the headline is misleading, that it is implying that this mp is doing more than she is, Yes she is doing a fantastic thing but she is not choosing to give half her salary to charity. The bulk of the money will be going on tax and NI and that is not a choice. I still applaud her for what she is doing but it is not on the scale that the headline is suggesting.

Bintheredunthat · 15/12/2019 11:57

Aaaaa it all becomes clear now.
It's the positive headline about a Labour mp that's blown the OP's mind.
After all Labour must only ever be lied about & portrayed negatively in MSM.
Don't worry I'm sure the Daily Mail will manage to make-up dig-up some dirt on this admirable young woman soon enough.

happycamper11 · 15/12/2019 12:22

We get the issue is (partly) the headline. OP has since gone on to state it's more that that though. However we are all aware that journalists sensationalise things and that headlines can be/usually are misleading. OP it's a resounding YABU

JustASmallTownCurl · 15/12/2019 12:23

If she kept her full salary then spoke with passion about helping people on a lower income than her then you strike me as someone who would probably call her a hypocrite and say "why isn't she giving away some of her high salary if she's that bothered."

You sound so very spiteful and angry. And you really give away 10% of your salary (or is it take home - can you clarify? Apologies if you have already) to charity?

By the way, the vast, vast majority of the population absolutely know that "salary" doesn't equate to their take home wage.

Calling it a publicity stunt as if it's a cheap and self serving claim is ridiculous.

I guess you could call it a call to attention / awareness drive, it's calling attention to the issue of low wages and perhaps encouraging other high earning MPs to potentially do the same.

I presume she is also trying to show her constituents that she takes her role seriously and reflects her party's stance on supporting workers who don't have huge salaries.

She is 23 years old and sounds infinitely more mature and empathetic than you.

Your comments on this are mean spirited and nasty.