Quick! MP's need a Salary increase

[Porfre]

According to long serving Tory MP Sir Peter Bottomley, his colleagues are suffering.

They're finding it difficult to survive on their MP salary of £82,000.

They need a Salary increase to £100,000, because of all their hard work.

How can you argue with that?

YABU- They dont deserve a salary increase.
YANBU - Of course their salary should be increased!

What qualifications do MPs have?
Comparing them to Lawyers and Surgeons who have trained for 6+ years to be in those jobs and presently would be leaving with a huge amount of student debt is not exactly a like-for-like comparison. Admittedly i think a lot do have a background in law, but I don't think its compulsory.

And the salary isn't "just" 82k because as others have said there are extras such as travel and subsidised food, expenses etc that you would not necessarily get in other jobs.

And no its not the same as a company CEO or lawyer but MPs have and do vote on giving themselves far more generous payrises than other public sector workers. And just peddling the idea that 82k is not enough to live on in London is hugely insulting to the thousands of people doing just that. In MN world yes everyone is on 80k and above, in reality the streets of London are not paved with gold - there are people living on average wages there....and people having their £20/week UC bonus ended, while MPs get £25/day for food!!

Poor poor MP's have they not heard of food banks, I am sure they would help them out!

Do we really need MPs to come in person to London any more? Just make it a virtual role and cut pay to £50k

What about the Prime Minister and his low wage?

Fixing Brexit is basically above his pay grade

@NotMyJobToFixProblemsIMade

What about the Prime Minister and his low wage?

Fixing Brexit is basically above his pay grade

He created the Brexit mess in the first place!!!

I think there should be a maximum wage, it should be linked tot eh minimum wage of an organisation so X times the minimum paid to any workers.

So for MPs it would be whatever they pay cleaning staff in parliament X whatever the maximum is.

It could be set quite high eg 100 times the minimum paid so for any CEO a pay increase would aldo be a raise for those at the bottom.

Its the language he used that got me.
'he believes the situation is ‘desperately difficult’ for his newer colleagues'. He added: ‘I don’t know how they manage. It’s really grim.’

@martingrowler

I think MPs salaries should be low. If MPs were paid small salaries then we'd have better ones in my opinion as they'd be in the jobs through passion and giving a shit instead of the lifestyle. Much like our nurses and teachers.

Then you will severely limit the pool of candidates to people who are able to afford it as a hobby, being independently wealthy otherwise. For many wealthier MPs these £82K is a drop in an ocean, really.

I think it's tone deaf to be talking about a pay increase for MPs at this time, whether they "deserve" it or not. It's utterly insensitive and despicable, when people have had their meagre top up cut and many can't afford the massive energy price hike.

We all deserve an increase!

I think they are under paid. Not a popular view but it’s hard work responsibility and a load of abuse and stress. Some head teachers are on that salary.

Not a popular view but it’s hard work responsibility and a load of abuse and stress. Some head teachers are on that salary.

Do you not think being a head teacher has hard work, responsibility and a load of abuse and stress as well?
And I'm pretty sure they don't get the extras.

Yes of course. Are head teachers at risk of being summarily sacked every 4 years? Most mps aren’t Tory fat cat types. Moaned at by constituents work long hours away from home hated at. I wouldn’t bloody do it would you? There are far easier ways to earn £80k. If the salaries too low you won’t get good candidates.

@MsTSwift

Yes of course. Are head teachers at risk of being summarily sacked every 4 years? Most mps aren’t Tory fat cat types. Moaned at by constituents work long hours away from home hated at. I wouldn’t bloody do it would you? There are far easier ways to earn £80k. If the salaries too low you won’t get good candidates.

In some schools, yes they are. Headteachers are performance managed in some areas, particularly academies. If certain criteria aren’t met then they’re out on their ear… it isn’t the protected role it once was.

Wouldn't it be lovely if we could all claim expenses. I realise that isn't practicle but the MPs expenses are very generous. Imagine not having to dip into your wages for buying meals and snacks.

Nothing stopping you all going for it and becoming MPs 😁. Knock yourselves out! I would bloody hate it personally not worth it for £82k. The ones I have come across work hard and are public spirited to be fair. Getting all angry about “MPs” seems abit student politics cringe to me.

And yet so many on here vote Tory and will continue to do so - they are out of touch and self-serving

@Sirzy

Does anyone have figures for the average expenses claim for an MP?

www.mpsexpenses.info/#!/search

I don't understand the reasoning behind increasing wages to attract a higher calibre of person. Surely the less we pay the more likely we are to get someone who is there in order to serve the public. County, District, Town and parish councillors are all unpaid and there is never a shortage of those willing to put themselves forward. And they are often educated, professional and/or passionate about the place in which they live. I'm not saying that some don't also do it for the status but this is no different from MPs really. I doubt many/any MPs don't have a sideline which keeps them in a decent lifestyle.

Look everyone needs a salary increase, and I don't think £100,000 is an unreasonable salary for an MP.

Is this a joke??? 100k for an MP is utterly unreasonable. You could probably justify ministerial salaries of 100k+ but your average MP is equivalent to mid management level at the very bestt. Their jobs are no more stressful or demanding (I'd argue they are less so) than say a teacher so I think a teacher's salary should be the cap for all MPs.

@MsTSwift

Yes of course. Are head teachers at risk of being summarily sacked every 4 years? Most mps aren’t Tory fat cat types. Moaned at by constituents work long hours away from home hated at. I wouldn’t bloody do it would you? There are far easier ways to earn £80k. If the salaries too low you won’t get good candidates.

Yes head teachers are at risk of being sacked, sometimes year by year. It can be a hugely stressful job.

@2old2beamum

Poor poor MP's have they not heard of food banks, I am sure they would help them out!

They dont need a food bank, they already get subsidised food at the commons canteen.

@MsTSwift

Yes of course. Are head teachers at risk of being summarily sacked every 4 years? Most mps aren’t Tory fat cat types. Moaned at by constituents work long hours away from home hated at. I wouldn’t bloody do it would you? There are far easier ways to earn £80k. If the salaries too low you won’t get good candidates.

MPs who lose their seats are given a generous pay-off of way more than statutory redundancy and they get additional funds for winding up their office too. They get a plethora of tax-free expenses the rest of us can only dream of. I reckon being an MP would be a piece of piss compared to being a head teacher or a GP.

Poor old Bottomley. Hasn't he heard that Boris is giving everybody a pay rise.
Or perhaps he wants the rise to be for MP's only.
While the rest of us just stumble on.

@SirSamuelVimes

My initial reaction is "fuck right off". But I think it's probably more complicated.

Being an MP is a pretty hard job, certainly it comes with a lot of unpleasantness and abuse, it's unstable (elections every four years or so) and the working hours are all over the place. It is paid well compared against the average salary but is it paid well against the average salary for a job role of that nature? Does the salary mean that talented people who might otherwise go I to politics are put off, and go into law (for eg) instead, where they can earn much more?

If MPs aren't paid a wage designed to attract and retain high calibre candidates we lose out on high calibre MPs. We go back to having a political class dominated by the independently wealthy for whom the salary is irrelevant.

I think timing of this is insanely stupid, good will for doctors is high, for MPs is low, so a comparison between the two at this point in time is unhelpful. But in general terms I can see the point being made.

This

County, District, Town and parish councillors are all unpaid and there is never a shortage of those willing to put themselves forward.

I'm surprised to hear that. I am a member of a political party and the local branch is always begging people to put themselves forward for these roles. The role of MP attracts a lot more public and media attention too, which I imagine puts some people off.