Loadsamoney!

The Independent yesterday provided more details on on the way in which the older Miliband brother - David - copes with losing the Labour leadership to his younger brother - Ed.

"One of the ways he (David) copes with it is by travelling. Since losing the election he has visited San Francisco, Islamabad, Zurich, Washington, Paris, Istanbul, Utah, Abu Dhabi, Berlin, Boston and Krakow. Some of the visits were for speeches, others conferences and he also did a teaching stint at Stanford University. He is still fascinated by foreign affairs, the international lecture circuit pays well, and on trips abroad he is less likely to be asked about his brother."

The newspaper goes on to detail some of the lucrative jobs David Miliband has taken on - in addition to his supposedly full-time job as a backbench Labour MP:

Indus Basin Holdings - worth around £50,000 a year 
VantagePoint (Californian clean energy company) - £92,000
Vice-Chairman of Sunderland Football Club - £75,000

So that comes to £217,000 a year on top of the £65,000 that David Miliband receives for doing his day job as MP for South Shields.

Now I could have sworn that under the last Labour government - MPs were urged to look at these extra-curricular activities - from the taxpayers' point of view.

And that earning tens of thousands of pounds a year from these outside activities - was simply not compatible with being an MP - since this required constituents to be represented on a full-time basis.

How can MPs be in two places at the same time - for such long periods - is the obvious  question to ask David Miliband?

Along with other MPs - of all parties - who behave in this way.

I'm amazed that the voters of South Shields put up with these antics - though to be fair they won't get the chance to do anything about it - for another few years.

Nonetheless it is a public disgrace.