MPs spend 250k on portraits of themselves...

[Vicky.]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mp-portrait-pictures-vain-mps-3020091

This story is absolutely sickening to me. At a time when cuts are affecting the poorest and most vulnerable in society, these arseholes continue to fritter away taxpayers money on stupid things.

Yes the 250k figure is over the past 15 or so years, but is there ANY reason they cant pay for this out of their own bloody pockets? They earn enough..and spend nowt of what they earn as everything goes on their gold plated tax payer funded expenses account anyway.

Just ****ing maddening.

[CaudleHalbard]

I'm just amazed that some who parade their socialist credentials, like Diane Abbott and Dennis Skinner have been been part of this sorry business.

[Kate!]

:fist: this makes my blood boil, but I shouldn't be surprised at anything politicians do now. Sigh.

[arista]

Yes they should have Paid for it
out of own private money.

[Z]

Mental

[MTVN]

Diane Abbot's one :joker:

[GypsyGoth]

It's better than the money going to help dirty homeless people or something.

[Livia]

I'd have taken their picture for 10% of that figure...

[smudgie]

I think it as gone on for years.

Nothing wrong with it, it allows generations to come to see what the politicians they may learn about look like.

[Crimson Dynamo]

I get the Speaker having one done but that utter clown Abbott?

She looks like a Bo Selecta cast off in that image

[Vicky.]

I get that its been going on years, even said that in my OP. But I find it really crap that they are getting 10k portraits done recently, whilst saying there is no money to pay for anything else and everything needs cut. 10k is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but its the principle.

[Nedusa]

If its a life size portrait of Diane Abbot then sadly yes I can see where that 10K would be spent.

That's a lot of paint and a lot of canvass to fill............!!!!

[smudgie]

I get that its been going on years, even said that in my OP. But I find it really crap that they are getting 10k portraits done recently, whilst saying there is no money to pay for anything else and everything needs cut. 10k is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but its the principle.

Perhaps in this day and age, with all the technology we have, they could just have life size photos.
It would save a fortune.
Perhaps just give the Prime Ministers a proper portrait in future.

[Livia]

They should get art students to paint them... pay them a bit, of course, but it'd be great for young British artists to have that in their portfolio.

[Vicky.]

They should get art students to paint them... pay them a bit, of course, but it'd be great for young British artists to have that in their portfolio.

Thats actually a really good idea

So it would never happen :laugh:

[Kizzy]

Thanks for hiking my tuition fees to £9000, here I painted you a picture...
Can't see it, unless it's a homage to Damian Hurst and they preserve the real politicians in formaldehyde and mount them on the wall?... I'd love that!

[Vicky.]

I dont really get the tuition fees argument if I am honest. Noone has to pay it back until they are earning a decent wage, and even then its a seriously low amount. I believe its something like a tenner a week when you earn 25k? And nothing at all if you earn under that..

[Kizzy]

It's a deterant though, 1000s of academic teens were put off going to uni due to the thought of that debt millstone.
Once you do earn a decent wage and you want to get married or buy a house you are severely restricted due to repayments.
The students didn't want it and neither did the tutors, so why?
To keep people in debt because debt keeps people borrowing.

[Livia]

Aside from the tuition fees debacle and who was to blame for it... I still think using students to do this stuff would be beneficial to them, as well as saving the government money. Also, if government agencies or even councils want campaigns designed, get design students to do them... use students more, they can benefit from the experience, it'll look great on their CVs, it saves the Public Purse money and it flags up the talent of our young people.

[Kizzy]

I hope you're not suggesting they give up their time gratis...
Workfare for students painting a 6ft wide canvass of fatty Pickles?

[Livia]

No, not at all. Of course they should be paid... but not the hundreds of thousands that get paid to artists and media companies. I think it could be a realistic quid pro quo. And I'm not suggesting they just do it for the Tories, they should be offered the opportunity to do it for anyone who asks.

Pickles should never be committed to canvass. Nothing that ugly should ever be reproduced.

[MTVN]

Wouldn't mind a life size portrait of the great Eric Pickles myself, could put it above my bed

[Livia]

Wouldn't mind a life size portrait of the great Eric Pickles myself, could put it above my bed

I say this with love, MTVN... but you're ****ing weird.

[Vicky.]

Wouldn't mind a life size portrait of the great Eric Pickles myself, could put it above my bed

To ward off all those unwanted conquests? :suspect:

[Kizzy]

You have a fetish for fat fascists?

[MTVN]

To ward off all those unwanted conquests? :suspect:

To help me seal the deal

[Harry!]

I do agree that they should invite university students to paint the portraits.

With the argument of tuition fees and alternative way to look at them is an investment into your future, I myself am a current university student and university is much more then just the cost. It can allow students new opportunities and be a focal point for your desired career.

[Livia]

I do agree that they should invite university students to paint the portraits.

With the argument of tuition fees and alternative way to look at them is an investment into your future, I myself am a current university student and university is much more then just the cost. It can allow students new opportunities and be a focal point for your desired career.

Awww Harry... so young and so wise.

[Kizzy]

Hold the phone.... so if students are getting all these jobs to work for the government and local councils for experience when they graduate who is going to employ them?

[Livia]

The private sector.

[Kizzy]

And what if they want these cheap as chips students too?
The private sector... don't make me laugh, they don't pay anyone but shareholders LOL.

[Livia]

The private sector is where the money is.... but hey, it was just an idea because I thought spending £250k of public money on paintings when they could be giving someone an opportunity was ridiculous.