sadoldgit

At 61? It is highly unlikely. I am currently looking for a new job and will be lucky to get around £20. I have no problem with him earning what he does. What I have a problem with is his skewed view of wages in the public sector. It is very easy to say pay someone more when you are earning twice the national average yourself. Has he offered to pay more taxes or take a pay cut though? No. Where does he think the money comes from? It comes from the rest of the public workers who have to face more and more cuts - some of this money goes to pay MPs more. Fair? Why don't MPs have to face cuts when the rest of us do?

Batman, ok so you think that MPs should get more money. Where do you think it comes from? Are you prepared to pay more taxes or have your wages cut to the national average to pay for it? Government spending is constantly being cut (yet MPs still voted to spend more on their wages). Our agency will not exist soon. People are leaving on a regular basis. My wife and I are leaving at the end of this month because we have had enough. We have four children between us and earn around £55k pa between us. No doubt we shall be earning less when we leave and find new jobs. Every year we have been asked to save £2m. The only way to do that is to get rid of staff and offices. When you do that you reduce your efficiency. We are getting to the point where we can no longer function properly. If MPs want more money they need to do the same. Close buildings and get rid of staff. Fewer MPs, more money. Mind you, they wont have so much time to write books or work as consultants will they? Trust me, even if you pay them more they will find ways of earning more.

Nothing stopping them going for jobs in the private sector. Funny that, no matter how badly some of you think MPs are paid there is never a shortage of applicants is there?

You really need to get out more, do you know what the average wage is? As I have said before, if MPs are so hard worked, how come so many of them find time for second jobs?

Well good for you. I think you will find that a lot of us would love to earn £50k. My wife is a senior manager in the CPS with 30 years service and earns £35k with no perks. The principle is the same isn't it? The public sector pays for less than the private sector. Surely you want "decent people" in public sectors jobs across the board? If so why not pay them all better money and not just feckin MPs. £50k for sitting around in a tin can all day, no wonder you have a warped view of the world. I get £25k for working 10 hours a day managing staff who are totally demotivated, underpaid and overworked. Poke it.

Heroes might be too strong a word, but to carry on when you pay is frozen year after year but you can see friends in the City taken home more in bonuses than you do in a year makes it tough to keep the commitment going day in day out. If being an MP is such a touch and time consuming job, how come some of them find time for other jobs? I am sorry but I don't agree that the standard of MP would improve if the salary went up. I think there are probably a lot more reasons than just salary while more decent people (as Batman says) don't want stand. Having to toe the Party line, having to reapply for your job every 4 or 5 years, having to deal with constituents etc. It takes a certain type of person to want to become an MP and I don't see any proper high flyers wanting to do it whatever the salary. Why don't we value our politicians? Because many of them lie, put themselves first, use their position for their own personal gain, suck up to the Whips so that they can get better jobs rather than vote with their conscience, are only widely visible when they want us to vote for them, are out of touch with "ordinary" people, are too busy slagging off the opposition or in point scoring to actually deal with issues sensibly. I could go on. I don't believe paying them more money would make any difference sadly.

morals

You really believe that it we paid them more there would be no more expenses rip offs, no more "secondary" jobs, no more dodgy consultancy fess etc etc? How much would you have to pay people like Richard Branson into the Commons? Aint gonna happen. The same people will seek out MPs jobs only we will be paying them more, that is all. Also I agree that they don't need to be in the Commons all of the time, but it is interesting to see how few are there when there are important debates and how many are then when they are discussing their salary. I work in the public sector. I see people working dreadfully long hours with no support day after day for £25k a year. None of us get a vote about our wages and most of us haven't had a pay rise for years. These are the real heroes. I am sorry but I don't by your MPs are hard done by stance.

Really FFS? How many people do you know earning over £70,000? I know lots of "decent" people who would love to earn that kind of money. We are talking about MPs here, not Cabinet Ministers. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to be an MP. FFS.

He seemed very irritated to me and was trying, not very well, to contain himself. He gave it away big time at the very end. He may think the waxing/waning question trite but the other guy is paid to do a job just as he is. Just watched it again and he looks like a bloke ready to blow to me.

To be fair though Whelk, there is a big difference between commenting on someone being out of form or not playing well, and another about labelling them as cr@p.

If he hadn't got in that position, beat a defender, kept his shot down and hit the target, I might agree with you. The fact that we scored a goal from his movement and shot, I disagree with you.

Morgan used to get this level of grief too. I agree that he should be cut some slack. The club would not have given him a new contract if they didn't believe in him.

What return are you expecting? Goals? RK brought him in to do a job, which he appears to be doing very well, and that is pulling defences around and making space for others.

His expression and body language shows he is under a lot of pressure. I cant be easy to sit there and face questions when you are under the cosh. Even the best, like Jose, often crack and walk off. Tough job being a football manager.

Indeed, and we have recently heard that Jack Straw and another have been pimping themselves out for money.

The basic salary for an MP is £67,070. They also get expenses to cover running an office and employing staff, somewhere to live in London and their constituency and travel too and from their constituency. Not too shabby in my book.

I would agree if they spent more time in the Commons. You only see a full house when they are discussing their own pay. Also they are Civil Servants and paid out of the public purse. The rest of us have had a pay freeze for years and have to do much more for less. Frankly I don't see why they deserve more. Many have other incomes and or use their positions to get cash. They hardly live on the breadline and no one forces them to become MPs.

Him and Mane MotM for me yesterday. Best defensive record so far must mean he is doing something right.

pub

electricity

Yeah, not great Sarnia. I can tell you that sitting in the back of a police car in handcuffs for 30 mins whilst being carted off to jail isn't the best time I have had! The officers were very nice though, they both sympathised as they had both been divorced before!

Sorry it has taken a while to respond, I have been busy boring people on the Clarkson thread. I will need to look at the clip again but to me it looked like he was shot whilst lying on the ground. I also believe I saw the guy surrounded by well trained (I assume) officers. One homeless guy. Is it so hard to deal with one guy who is probably not in the best condition without shooting him 5 times? Please don't patronise me. I am not stupid but I cant see how the only was to deal with the guy was to fill him full of holes. He was unarmed wasn't he? Do I understand that correctly? As for the last sentence, it was a joke. You have jokes in America, right?

referees

I am leaving the CPS at the end of the month and need a job!