The Parasites are at it again

[Ryoko]

DO AS WE SAY NOT AS WE DO! the motto of all MPs (MP is an abbreviation of Money Parasite).

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12852926

Oh my heart bleeds for them god forbid they ever even get the slightest hint of what it's like to be on the receiving end of their thieving policies. Yes claim all the expenses you like on your 63k a year, cushion yourself completely from your own doing with the soft luxuries feel of everyone else's hard earned.

outrageous, this could lead to even more women becoming MPs and we all know feminism has gone too far already?

They are not parasites

cos they ain't from Paris

It's easy to go the drama queen route Ryoko. But if we don't want parliament to become exclusive to independently wealthy men, I think we have to make sure that the remuneration and conditions match the job requirements adequately. The expenses system in the past got out of control partly because MPs were expected to finance not just themselves but a back office, staff, transport and accommodation on a salary that was kept down for political reasons. So allowances were increasingly used to fill the gap, the rules became too woolly, badly controlled and some couldn't resist the temptation to take advantage.

In the haste to fix the system and restore public confidence, it looks as though they've not got it right and are making some adjustments. I don't want my MP kipping on the floor in their office.

First time ever I completely agree with Chili.

I think they're underpaid - MPS work ridiculous hours

do they really? Like most shift workers, thought not. Are they working to save lives? No, thought not. If someone on the minimum wage is expected to get themselves home after an evening or night shift, then I sure as hell don't see why MPs cannot do the same.
They knew what the job would entail when they stood for election. They must have made a family decision to endure it. Like most of us mere mortals do when we apply for a job which may have an impact on our family lives. I work part-time (even though I can't afford to) because I have an autistic child. A decision we had to make. If my other half wanted to enter the world of politics, we would have to consider the impact.
I have no problem with amendments being made to the working practices of MPs so that, perhaps, sittings do not go past a certain time - say 7pm. And I say 7pm because that's the time that my husband gets to leave his job every night (because we are all in this together and the cuts won't really have any impact). I have absolutely no sympathy for MPs - they are way out of touch.

We need to make it possible for anyone, of either gender, with or without children, to stand for parliament. Otherwise we will be forever ruled by the chinless wonders from Eton and the like! £63k per year is nothing when you consider the hours the house sits and the responsibility they have.

LaydeeC - they are often voting in the house at midnight - what are they meant to do?

the average shift worker doesn't work 70+ hour weeks and have thousands of people contacting them about their: housing, visas, schools, crime, rubbish collections - all expecting immediate answers and actions.

I would pay MPs £100k plus - council bosses (far more useless in my opinion) get 3 times what an MP gets

May I remind you all that there is already a building in London filled with apartments for minister to stay over night, that the majority refuse to use even tho they are more luxuries then what many people will ever manage to get.

And boo hoo about not seeing the kids for a night I fail to see how that puts off woman MPs, men can look after the kids just as well and is it not the case that the one who earns the least should stay at home to look after the kids?

When I was working I got under 12k a year for a 36 hour week, I normally ended up with between 12 and 13k a year for working OT doing 6 days a week sometimes doing 24 hour shifts, I'd be more then happy to do 70 hours for 63k that is a massive pay increase per hour and I don't recall any MPs spending 24 hours in front of a PC getting RSI with only 2 .5 hours worth of breaks.

And just because you were in a job with shit pay and conditions, and just because some people don't have luxuries in life that means everyone else should be dragged down to the lowest common denominator? I don't think so somehow. I also don't know why you think all an MP does all day is being 'in front of a PC'. Have you never spoken to one and found out what they do? Just in case you'd forgotten, these people are determining laws and enacting policies that influence all our lives. They are under constant scrutiny, rightly expected to perform at 100% at all times and, if they mess up, it's extremely serious for all of us.

Agreed Chil, I thought it was good news for once.

Chilli learn how to read I said "I DON'T RECALL any MPs spending 24 hours in front of a PC getting RSI with only a 2.5 hour break" I was refering to my work.

63k a year is a salary to die for, many people would work hard for that and be proud of the job they are doing and want to do good for the people not line their own pocket, if they want more cash and more time with their families, there are plenty of other people who would gladly take their job.

No one goes into Politics for the money.

I think the only way to solve this is for the MPs to be provided with accomodation in London (like a Mess for the Forces), where they have a furnished en-suite bed sitting room, and eat together. They are not charged for this, just for their food/wine and get fed for the cost of three meals a day of about £3.00 as do HM Forces.

They get an allowance to get home to the constituency (mileage or train, not first class), and have to pay for their main home out of their pocket like the rest of us. Their admin staff are employed by HMG and there is a pool from which they are taken.

No need for expense claims at all is there?

Even better move parliament to a cheaper part of the country....why are we so London obsessed - it wasnt always the be all and end all of everything in this country.

"Even better move parliament to a cheaper part of the country."

"Cheaper"? Parliament's in London because it pretty much always has been since it came into existence. And that's lead to the main bodies of Government also becoming located in London.

So yes you could move it, but then everything else will follow it, which means that you have to all intents and purposes moved the capital of the country, so the country has a new capital, which rapidly becomes as expensive as the old one. So you could theoretically save a bit for a few years but you'd be facing enormous expense moving all of those people and in no time at all you'd end up in exactly the same situation as you were before.

"it wasnt always the be all and end all of everything in this country."

Well it has been the capital for nearly 1000 years, are you suggesting we decamp back to Winchester the old Saxon capital? Or perhaps Colchester takes your fancy, it suited the Romans 2000 years ago.

The capital of a country will always be at the heart of what happens in a country and if you move it the negative effects of being the capital (land prices and overcrowding) will just follow it.

'Even better move parliament to a cheaper part of the country.' This happens with the EU, except they have two - one here in Brussels and the other in Strasbourg, because the French insisted. Huge waste of money, and even more expense claims from the Eurocrats.

I don't think 63k is a slary to die for. They work away a lot and so it often means the other parent (if they have kids) has to either stay at home, or take a carer with less responsibilty, meaning that salary has to be shared. Travelling in to London daily, and working what can often be 20 hour days (according to someone I know who is a PA to MP) isn't worth it for 63k.

But then as one poster said, you don't go in to politics for money.

HM Forces do much the same (20 hour days) in worse conditions for a lot less money in some cases, and the same applies to their other halves as well.

I have run out of sympathy for MPs I have to say.

So why aren't more ordinary hard working people queuing up to swap their downtrodden lives for this 'to die for' MP's salary and luxurious lifestyle? Traditional route in at the moment is to make it as a lawyer or in private business and then use the cash generated to finance a few years as an MP. MPs that do come from genuinely ordinary jobs and have no money in the bank find it very difficult to keep their finances in the black as there are a lot of up-front costs that they have to meet out of their own pocket whilst waiting to be reimbursed for the last lot.

If you adopted the system I put forward above, there would be no need for expenses and MPs would not have to use their wives/kids as PAs and research assistants.

I don't see why MPs should be herded into some sort of dorm for their working week. I agree with all the other posters who say that MPs work very long and very, very stressful hours trying to balance their constituents' interests with the pressures of the party line. Given the hours and the pressure, they are very badly paid and I know at least two people who had party political aspirations (and would have made great MPs) who decided against it when they saw the sheer weight of work involved.

As long as they can do the job, I've no objection to a MP's family working for him or her - it's the only way some of them get to spend time together otherwise.

scaryteacher I think the forces are a seperate matter and clearly they don't get paid enough for what they do.

'I don't see why MPs should be herded into some sort of dorm for their working week.'

I'm suggesting something along the lines of the Joint Services College at Shrivenham. Massive bed/sitting rooms with an en suite. Laundry facilities available. Meals cooked and served; cashless bar with billing at the end of the month. Phone in room. No accommodation charge if married and paying for own home/rental elsewhere, but small food charge every month. Hardly a 'dorm'. Several TV rooms available. Gym on site etc.