What Happened to Confidentiality?
Like most people in this country, I want a proper solution to the remuneration and expenses of our MPs. I say most, because I feel that there are some people, who just want MPs to go through the wringer again and again, as it is the latest spectator sport.
But what worries me about the two enquiries going on, is that they seem to be leaking their findings. Or at least testing the marketplace to see how they can be popular with the public and bring MPs into line.
As the title says, “What Happened to Confidentiality?”
To me though what we pay MPs is simple. We should cut their numbers and distribute seats fairly, pay those that remain more and then put all MPs under the same rules as we all are with our businesses. These rules would be enforced by Revenue and Customs.
The latter point may actually relax some rules, as say you are an MP for a distant rural constituency, you would get a lot of allowances and perhaps even pay, but someone who represented say Enfield in London, would be very much on the basics.
Years ago, when I was working for ICI, I did a job for some months, which meant that I was travelling at lunchtime between two places of work. Company rules, meant that I got a taxable bonus, because of the extra stress involved. So even in those far off days in the very early 1970s, industry recognised the stresses and strains of jobs and rewarded people accordingly.
Do we pay our MPs correctly for what they are supposed to do and the stress they suffer? Some yes, but others we don’t!
It would be interesting to also look at the rate of divorces and other problems in MPs families. As I write this, there is a local news story about a prospective candidate, who had a high-profile affair with an MP. I have no idea whether it is more than the national average, but MPs staying overnight in London, with their spouse in the constituency do seem to feature in the tabloids from time to time.
It’s a mess. And in my view, it’s a mess created because we do not pay MPs the going rate for a difficult job, that should attract the best talent in the country. More and more, it seems to attract political timeservers and yes-men, who want to get to the top, by any means possible.
There is one solution to the problem. Several countries have a political list system, where you vote for the party and then MPs are chosen proportionally. All are party hacks and all live near Parliament. It solves the expenses problem, as MPs don’t have particular constituencies, so they have few travel expenses.
Heaven save us from such a system.
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The Anonymous Widower 
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