FWIW I believe MPs should get a decent salary. £67060 is actually not great when you consider their weight of responsibility. I believe they should get more.
However, before I get completely flamed please hear me out. I think they should get paid more but that needs to be it. No sitting on the Board of Directors for God knows how many companies. No 'consultancy fees'. No other cr@p.
I realise these top up payments come from private companies not the public purse but if we pay them properly they may actually devote more time to doing what they're paid to.
I seem to recall that whilst William Hague was the Foreign Secretary he sat on the Boards of 6 or 7 companies. I would guess that his primary job kept him busy enough that he couldn't devote too much time to these other jobs. So what I'm wondering is why on earth would these companies pay a high profile politician to sit on their board when he rarely if ever showed up?
(can you sense the sarcasm?!).
The question of the 'independent' pay review body sets off the alarms on my personal BS sensor though. The AFPRB is supposedly just as independent but got clear direction. Independent my @rse.
Anyway back to the thread. It's not his veteran status that should bump him up the list in my opinion. It's the fact that he's paid tax for several years and made a positive contribution to society. I'd love it if his previous service could help him but I'm a realist and don't really believe the covenant will ever actually be acted upon in any meaningful sense, even if it really should be.
BV
