MP’s and the Prime Minister have taken a lot of flack in recent years, perhaps even more than poor old double glazing sales reps! Perhaps for good reason. It’s been a tough old time to be in the UK in recent years. Austerity has been the order of the day for many, and “cuts” is a continuous theme that is present in much of the country’s daily life.
So you can’t blame people for laying the blame of their trouble at the feet of politicians. Especially those who did not vote for the current Government. I can see why certain groups would have complaints. But not all I agree with.
One of the gripes that gets my cage rattled is when people moan about how much the Prime Minister and MPs get paid. Here’s why…
Six figure sums
Lets take the Prime Minister as an example. I hear regular moans and groans about how much our leader gets paid, and as the title of this post suggests, that stands at £143,462 per year plus expenses but including a Parliamentary wage of £74,962.
Now lets put this into perspective. This is a low end, six figure sum to run the UK, the fifth biggest economy in the world. To me, £143k per year is a very reasonable amount, given the scale of the job.
Cabinet Ministers get paid £135,527 per year and MP’s get paid £74,962 per year. Yes this is more than the UK average and more than most get paid in a year. But again, consider the jobs these people undertake. Do you really expect them to do such a tough job – and it is a tough job, despite the what criticisms would have you believe – for the national average of £26k per year? No, I don’t, and neither should the rest of us.
Wage info sourced from UK Parliament website
Has Parliament abused their power in recent years? Most definitely. The expenses scandal proved that very clearly. No one can agree with that. And hopefully, in time, progress will be made and that sorry story will be put right. But I think the accusations of daylight robbery when it comes to MP’s wages and what Dave gets paid are very exaggerated.
However, where David Cameron created a very stiff rod for his own back is when he pulled out the line: “we’re all in this together” as he formed his coalition Government with the Lib Dems six years ago. It’s perhaps the worst thing he could have said as it was very clear everyone was certainly not “in this together”. Every time the subject of inequality is brought up, that line is read back to him as ammunition. He really dropped the ball there.
We live in a very dynamic and changing world where the free market allows anyone and everyone to make it, if they try hard enough. Sections of the UK seem to have a very large Napoleon complex where we don’t like the idea of other people, not just MP’s, earning more than we do. It’s a petty and jealous way to think. Would the naysayers rather everyone earned the same, average wage, and make sure no one had the chance to earn more?
Rant over for now. I am sure many reading this will have differing opinions. Please get involved in the debate and leave your comments via the section below.
