Sunday Times headlines

[bottleofredbottleofwhite]

1. Payoff of tens of thousands for Mandelson
2. Charles wants to constrain unstable Andrew - meaning funding his home and bills.

I’m just off to work a shift today and struggling to pay my bills. These 2 men that have done so much wrong seem to have money just pouring out of their pockets , no struggles for them.

Yeah, it’s fucking shit seeing these arseholes on the gravy train.

If it’s any consolation, the thing they will feel actually seriously wounded by, right in the centre of their egos, is the loss of their titles and dress up privileges. I know the type.

Meanwhile, Charles is being a weird idiot and Keir Starmer probably comes across as one. The late Queen looks like a warped fool. Serious politics and political journalism look shonky too - all the big players either missed all this or enabled it through misguided fealty.

I just read the BBC headline about the payoff and I feel so angry that this man has received even a penny from the public purse after being sacked for what he did. To me it is the principle and it is gross.

How the hell can a sacking of any kind result in a payoff, has no one any shame, how could this have been even suggested let alone sanctioned AND accepted is disgraceful.

How can anyone in the government or working on its behalf possibly say that their first thought is with the victims when actions such as this say the opposite. Is this normal - would love to hear perspective from any employment professionals on here.

The thing I find so repulsive is that we as tax payers funded Andrew’s ‘job’ as trade envoy.

The distance between the have and have nots seems to get wider and wider. No matter what certain types of people do they just get looked after, even by people who you think are decent.

I think that Maddison’s financial affairs need thoroughly investigating. 25 or 30 years ago he had to beg £350k from Geoffrey Robinson in order to mislead a mortgage company and buy a house for £500k in Notting Hill. Since then, most of his ‘career’ had been as a public servant earning, in today’s money, at most £200k a year. Now, that’ll give him a decent final salary pensions of course. The last 10 years have been at the crony advisory firm, at which he might have earned a million or so a year.

But, he now seems to have a house in Camden worth £10m or £12m and a lifestyle that requires a lot more than £150/£200k to support. He’s also got a property in Rio, and rents a farmhouse in Wiltshire.

One could guesstimate that that sort of lifestyle needs ad gross income of £500k or so, and if we knock off £150k of civil service / EU pension that’s £350k. For ease of valuation assume that needs capital of £10m or so. Where has the £25/£30m of wealth / assets come from…? After tax I struggle to see how even half can come from his advisory work…

@Tryingtokeepgoing Those are good points you make there. The money certainly doesn't come from his partner.