MPs: We Want £40,000 A Year Pay Rise
Headline of the week must go to today's Daily Express (www.express.co.uk) for its front page splash - which says that MPs are looking for a £40,000 pay rise - to compensate for the loss of their allowances and expenses.
Now a backbench MPs' salary (£64,766) is not exactly a king's ransom - but it's not poverty pay either.
An MP gets paid four or five times more than a Home Carer or Classroom Assistant - jobs that have been underpaid and undervalued for years - and that are still fighting for equal pay in many areas.
An MP also gets paid more that a highly qualified Charge Nurse or Sister - one that manages a busy hospital ward or intensive care unit even - one that works unsocial hours and shifts into the bargain.
So, before MPs start moaning about their pay - they should take a reality check.
Some MPs are very able individuals, articulate and hard working - others give the impression that they would find it hard to chew gum and fart at the same time - as someone once said of the former Amercan president, Gerald Ford.
The best MPs can hope for is a reasonable pay rise down the line - once the country is back on its feet - and once they've shown that there's more to being a MP - than learning how to shove your nose ever deeper into the trough.
Now a backbench MPs' salary (£64,766) is not exactly a king's ransom - but it's not poverty pay either.
An MP gets paid four or five times more than a Home Carer or Classroom Assistant - jobs that have been underpaid and undervalued for years - and that are still fighting for equal pay in many areas.
An MP also gets paid more that a highly qualified Charge Nurse or Sister - one that manages a busy hospital ward or intensive care unit even - one that works unsocial hours and shifts into the bargain.
So, before MPs start moaning about their pay - they should take a reality check.
Some MPs are very able individuals, articulate and hard working - others give the impression that they would find it hard to chew gum and fart at the same time - as someone once said of the former Amercan president, Gerald Ford.
The best MPs can hope for is a reasonable pay rise down the line - once the country is back on its feet - and once they've shown that there's more to being a MP - than learning how to shove your nose ever deeper into the trough.
