Comments on: Millionaires in Tory team defeat David Cameron

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:59:13 +0000

John Edwards, I agree that MPs shouldn’t hold other outside jobs, but most of their ‘pay and expenses’ is, truly, expenses. About £90,000 is their staff allowance, for example (which generally doesn’t go to family members, although some do still employ spouses as secretaries and the like), and I think a similar amount is the communications allowance which goes on paper and postage and stuff. It’s not, mostly, the sort of vague expenses which can be spent on day-to-day living.

By: miller 2.0

miller 2.0 — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:55:43 +0000

I think they should volunteer to work their other jobs for free, if they’re basing it on outside experience.

By: Theo Blackwell

Theo Blackwell — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:49:12 +0000

It’s one thing to argue that MPs should have outside experience to bring to politics, or to have one or two senior MPs with outside interests – but it’s quite another for the Tory shadow cabinet to have 23 outside, remunerated directorships between them.

Although I suspect this isn’t the highest total ever, the idea that we might be run by a new generation of “Two-job Tories” might not chime well in neighbourhoods where people are losing their only job, d’ya think?

I also don’t like the fact that some of them are clearly hedging their bets, ‘I’ll go full time if we get to power’, surely you stand for public office or you don’t…

By: miller 2.0

miller 2.0 — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:21:07 +0000

“I’d prefer the Shadow Cabinet to be judged on competence rather than outside earnings. Let the electorate decide who should run the country – if they don’t like someone having a second job, fair enough.”

Fair play. Let’s make it an issue then!

By: miller 2.0

miller 2.0 — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:20:14 +0000

“Should the Tory front bench give up their second jobs?”

What, you mean step down from parliament? The implications would be stark. We’d have no opposition.

So ‘yes’, then, basically…

By: john edwards

john edwards — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:42:08 +0000

I thinkall MP’s, front and backbenchers, should be prevented by legislation from having a second paid source of employment. We pay a them a full time wage and we should demand a full time job from them in return. A quarter of a million pounds a year in pay and expenses (as the basic) should be enough for anyone.
And we should also demand that they turn up at the place of work more than the 8 months of the year currently required.

By: Letters From A Tory

Letters From A Tory — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:57:15 +0000

I’d prefer the Shadow Cabinet to be judged on competence rather than outside earnings. Let the electorate decide who should run the country – if they don’t like someone having a second job, fair enough.

That said, I think a cap on the number of hours that are put aside for other jobs might work instead of capping the amount earned, but it’s still a difficult situation.

http://www.lettersfromatory.com

By: Alice

Alice — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:31:21 +0000

No they should keep their second jobs. In the current economic climate they would be unwise to give them up, particularly as they aren’t getting into government any time soon.

All that annoys me is that the taxpayer will probably end up paying their NED salaries by bailing out the firms as well as their political salaries.