To think Piers Morgan has a point?

[Bluebellpainting]

Personally not a fan of Piers Morgan and his interview style annoys me with the constant interruptions. However when questioning the health secretary I did think he had a point about taking a pay cut. Matt Hancock was quite quick when asked to suggest that footballers should take a pay cut but isn’t willing to do the same himself. My husband and I disagree but wondered what others thought. AIBU to think the Matt Hancock is being hypocritical by suggesting others should be taking a pay cut but not being willing to take one himself?

All MPs should have taken a 20% pay cut in solidarity to the employees who were furloughed. But Hancox should have donated his entire salary for the piss poor job he’s done. History is not going to look back kindly at him.

The majority of footballers make a pittance and do it alongside another job.

Our ceo has taken a voluntary 90% pay reduction - he’s still very much working his arse off trying to ensure all colleagues will have a job to return to.

Lily i ahve lived in the UK and in a few other cuntries and I kow for a fact that the UK system is apauling. I'm struggling to see a worse system tbh (bar the US).
Seeing that NewZeland has managed to keep things very well under control, I'd say they are in a better position than the UK. You dinttake the risk the UK has taken with a healthcare system that is already on its last leg.
It doesnt matter if the sytem is up to date with the latest advance if you cant access it.

This is a very unpopular opinion but I actually don't think that MPs get paid very much.

ElisavetaOfBumsornia Did you see the Q&A in which he said it? It was at the end of a really long daily briefing in his first day back after sick leave for coronavirus. He looked knackered. It wasn't a carefully composed reply. He basically just agreed with the journalist asking him the question. I really don't think we can read too much into it.

The briefing took place over a week ago genevieva. Even if one takes the view that it wasn't reasonable to expect him to identify the problem with what he was saying during the press conference, there's been ample opportunity for him to clarify it since. As he hasn't come out and said that he feels this principle should also apply in other sectors where there's a large gulf in renumeration, and indeed has defended his opinion, we can only assume that what he's said accurately represents his views on the subject. That he thinks footballers should do this, but he's not suggested the same should apply elsewhere. Not only can we read plenty into it, but actually we ought to.

Paycuts are necessary for some to be able to maintain their businesses and help prevent job losses. The cuts are because companies are not making money and therefore not able to pay wages. Taking a pay cut now might ensure workers have a job to return to when they are able to go back to work.

MPs do not work for a business in this sense. A reduction in their salaries would have no benefit to anyone! It would be a tiny drop in the ocean for Gov. expenditure and completely pointless.

Some on here want see everyone take a pay-cut just to 'even things out a bit', which is a really childish and basic way of thinking.

It appears that NZ is doing a much better job with this virus than we are.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/10/elimination-what-new-zealands-coronavirus-response-can-teach-the-world

He was asked a direct question concerning the propriety of huge dividends being paid to directors and footballers retaining their massive salaries whilst their clubs simultaneously went cap in hand to the government requesting taxpayers money to furlough their more ‘menial’ staff which is utterly reprehensible

No, he was asked about players. Not directors. And responded concerning players only. There's an interesting discussion to be had about why the question was framed in that way in the first place, of course.

@Lily193 what experience do you have of the NZ health system?
I've worked in the NHS and in NZ. Although NHS certainly has wider access to new and expensive treatments and drugs, I thought generally the quality of care in NZ was superb, the hospital I worked in was modern and well equipped, staff very well paid and wards and teams well staffed. Quality of training was excellent too. NZ has more limitations in what it can fund and some of its own specific issues with health inequalities for Maori and Pasifika people but for a country with only 5m citizens I think it does a great job.

MO's are working footballers are not working - YABU

Footballers aren't working at the moment and they wont be for some time
Matt Hancock IS working at the moment probably harder than he ever has before.
Footballers are keeping up their multi million salaries whilst club staff are being furloughed, because oh yes footballers aren't working at the moment

This is a very unpopular opinion but I actually don't think that MPs get paid very much

I agree and whilst I don't particularly think they should get a pay rise, I can't see any good reason why they should take a paycut. It would be absolutely meaningless and make no difference. It seems especially ridiculous to suggest that the health secretary should take a pay cut whilst navigating the country though a pandemic.

It appears that NZ is doing a much better job with this virus than we are.

To be fair, a country whose population density is barely twice that of the Scottish Highlands is in a permanent state of social distancing anyway...

If we are to demand that some people take pay cuts, then it should be based on tangible criteria rather than something emotional like "oh but footballers earn so much".

Getting the rich people to give up more of their money to help the common good sounds an awful lot like the kind of policies the population overwhelmingly voted against just a few months ago, though.

Emerald89

I've lived in New Zealand and have accessed the system as a patient - delayed diagnosis and lack of access to the newest drugs was a major issue. My DH worked as a senior consultant.

I can't stand Jacinda Ardern. There. I said it.

Just a note on the NZ Government taking paycut. The premier of New Zealand receives about £225,000 a year as opposed to UK PM who get's £150,000. I don't think ours are paid excessively by any means.

Hard to believe anyone would compare covid19 in the UK to New Zealand, really.

Infectious diseases spread more efficiently in densely populated areas. Just FYI.

Doesn't it cost loads more for everything in NZ though?

Piers Morgan is an arse.

Footballers aren't working at the moment. Matt Hancock is working and probably putting in more hours than he ever has in the past.

Hard to believe anyone would compare covid19 in the UK to New Zealand, really.

Yes this and the sainted Ms Ardern.

Comparing UK to New Zealand is as absurd as comparing footballer salaries to MPs.

@ElisavetaOfBumsornia Hancock is a health minister, so his communications focus on health matters. My understanding is that Sunak has provided a government position in this matter. He said something along the lines of the furlough scheme is there to help companies facing insolvency, but given the urgency of getting that money to many of those companies the treasury had decided that adding too many layers of scrutiny regarding entitlement for the scheme in order to reduce applications from companies that can weather the storm would end up doing more harm than good.

Sorry for the long sentence - multitasking. If it is incomprehensible I will punctuate it.