Would MPs defend their pay rise if we all demanded the same working rights?
Median average earnings for the bottom 90 per cent of people in the UK amount to around 12,000 or £13,000, so the pay rise over the last six years – for the lowest-earning MPs – is around three-quarters of that.
This year’s rise is equivalent to one-third of my Carer’s Allowance. I know I’m allowed to earn money on top of that – but then, so are they.
And this is just the base rate for MPs. Those with special responsibilities – the Speaker and his assistants, committee chairs, cabinet and shadow cabinet members – all earn more. Some of them earn much, much more.
We can only come to one conclusion:
These people are ripping us off. And IPSA has to go.
But, you know what? Perhaps we should play them at their own game.
Clearly, they would like us to believe that they are held to very high standards.
So let us demand equality – that those standards are applied equally to everybody. The same rules on working hours. The same workers’ rights. The same rules on expenses claims…
Would that work?
MPs are expected to receive a 1.4% pay rise worth more than £1,000 in April next year, taking their salaries to £76,011.
Increases are based on the annual change in average weekly earnings across the public sector, which the Office for National Statistics calculated on Thursday at 1.4%.
The increase amount will be confirmed in February but is unlikely to change much by then, sources said. It follows a 1.3% rise this year, which followed a big increase from £67,000 to £74,000.
The rise is much greater than that received by most public sector workers, who have been subject to austerity restrictions since 2010.
Source: MPs expected to receive pay rise of more than £1,000 | Money | The Guardian
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If the system is left alone, eventually we will get to something similar to the US pay scandal where Senators and House Members are almost exclusively corruptly rich both through their earnings and their business contacts, and completely disregard how this looks to the average person. From what I see, there are few in either House and from both parties in the US who are worthy of any votes.
Do we really want to allow the UK to degenerate to that example? We saw from the expenses scandal that British MPs and Peers have it in them to fleece the system. We need every safeguard possible. One of my American friends often repeats their saying, “People just ain’t no good!” I hate to think we would get that cynical here, but we do need to have proper systems in place so that we don’t get ripped of by those who can, just because they can. If ours need beefing up, then they should be.
MPs are held to very high standards? High standards of what, corruption perhaps? I do realise that some of them do adhere to high personal standards and ethics, Jeremy Corbyn for example, but that cannot be said for many of them.
As indicated, they would like us to believe they have high standards. My point is that those standards aren’t all that high after all.
Why not a basic income for everyone, and $500 more per month for people with disabilities? Please see https://twishort.com/gDwlc.
Everyone who works should be paid properly, never mind this cutting and freezing crap, the politicians aren’t made to tighten their belts and neither should we!
The question has to be asked if they are held to high standards just who is supposed to be ensuring that level of standard?
Capitalism is against the things that we say we believe in – democracy, freedom of choice, fairness. It’s not about any of those things now. It’s about protecting the wealthy and legalizing greed. Michael Moore
Give me the rights to the same expense claims they can forward to the taxman and I will be overjoyed.
or us who rely on work pensions which had no rise last year at all