[fingers]

To put it in perspective people drawing the State Pension get less than £300 for TWO WEEKS pension.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by TinyFingeringTim

To put it in perspective people drawing the State Pension get less than £300 for TWO WEEKS pension.

The problem with imposing massive pay cuts on MPs or on the House of Lords would be that only the very rich would do it. An MPs salary (I know we're talking about the House of Lords, but I'm using this as an example) is a fraction of what someone with a decent degree and plenty of drive would be able to earn in the City, for instance. The Chief Executive of my local district council gets a salary in excess of four times what the local MP earns. And I know they get expenses, but a big chunk of those expenses go on staff wages and office costs, postage, IT... a constituency office is responsible for 90-100,000 people and it's always busy, so having a quality staff is essential.

If someone who isn't from a wealthy background goes into politics there has to be a decent financial incentive or we go back to the time when only the independently wealthy went into parliament. And really... that's the last thing we need.

Originally Posted by Livia

The problem with imposing massive pay cuts on MPs or on the House of Lords would be that only the very rich would do it. An MPs salary (I know we're talking about the House of Lords, but I'm using this as an example) is a fraction of what someone with a decent degree and plenty of drive would be able to earn in the City, for instance. The Chief Executive of my local district council gets a salary in excess of four times what the local MP earns. And I know they get expenses, but a big chunk of those expenses go on staff wages and office costs, postage, IT... a constituency office is responsible for 90-100,000 people and it's always busy, so having a quality staff is essential.

If someone who isn't from a wealthy background goes into politics there has to be a decent financial incentive or we go back to the time when only the independently wealthy went into parliament. And really... that's the last thing we need.

That is the ideal of politics - it's not about people wanting/needing big salaries to represent the people, but politics is more about power and self importance, than representation. How many politicians in all parties put the need of constituents before their parties/big business?

Politics should be a vocation, not a jolly.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by The Baby Jesus

That is the ideal of politics - it's not about people wanting/needing big salaries to represent the people, but politics is more about power and self importance, than representation. How many politicians in all parties put the need of constituents before their parties/big business?

Politics should be a vocation, not a jolly.

Well, I know a fair few MPs, and while I can't pretend that they all are committed, fair and hard-working, a lot of them are. Standing as an MP doesn't mean you have your morals removed... some of them - across all the parties - really are working for the greater good and I have a lot of admiration for them. Equally, some should be taken out and shot.

I'd like to see far fewer people in politics who have a pond on which to put a duck house. sadly, unless they earn a salary at least on par with what they could get in the private sector, then we're going continue to get hobby politicians who are either independently wealthy, or divide their time between Parliament and their "proper", more lucrative job.

Originally Posted by Livia

Well, I know a fair few MPs, and while I can't pretend that they all are committed, fair and hard-working, a lot of them are. Standing as an MP doesn't mean you have your morals removed... some of them - across all the parties - really are working for the greater good and I have a lot of admiration for them. Equally, some should be taken out and shot.

I'd like to see far fewer people in politics who have a pond on which to put a duck house. sadly, unless they earn a salary at least on par with what they could get in the private sector, then we're going continue to get hobby politicians who are either independently wealthy, or divide their time between Parliament and their "proper", more lucrative job.

I don't quite get why politics shouldn't be vocational though. I'm sure there are nurses and teachers that could have put their intelligence in the private sector for twice the money as well. The fundamental aim of politics (when done well) is to provide a service for the people. Just like teaching, it's not to earn a good salary, and be self-important.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by The Baby Jesus

I don't quite get why politics shouldn't be vocational though. I'm sure there are nurses and teachers that could have put their intelligence in the private sector for twice the money as well. The fundamental aim of politics (when done well) is to provide a service for the people. Just like teaching, it's not to earn a good salary, and be self-important.

Why would you think it should be vocational? Even local concillors get paid for what they do, and the more committees they sit on, the more they're paid.

I want MPs to be the best people with the best qualifications from the most diverse backgrounds. Pay them a decent salary and you attract the best applicants. Right now it IS sort of vocational. Even the Labour party are mostly made up of rich, privately educated chinless wonders and they top up their salary by sitting on company boards and investing their trust funds. I want them to give politics 100% of their attention.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Livia

I want MPs to be the best people with the best qualifications from the most diverse backgrounds. Pay them a decent salary and you attract the best applicants. Right now it IS sort of vocational. Even the Labour party are mostly made up of rich, privately educated chinless wonders and they top up their salary by sitting on company boards and investing their trust funds. I want them to give politics 100% of their attention.

Perhaps it would be better if paid politicians agreed to have their investment assets frozen to inflation during their time in politics, and also if they simply weren't allowed to engage in any "financial extracurriculars" such as sitting on company boards...

Impossible to actually implement, of course. They'd simply use their wives / husbands and other family members as puppets.