Painless Cuts
I read the other day that their noble lordships in the House of Lords cost the country nearly £500,000 every week - in expenses alone.
Apparently the noble Baroness Anelay - whoever she is - came up with this figure when telling peers they are to have a week longer than MPs for their Easter break.
Which was in response to a question from the noble Labour peer - Lord Dubs.
Who was told by the noble Lady Anelay that shutting the whole place down for an extra week - would save the public purse around £496,000 in noble expenses.
Because unlike MPs most peers - those not on the government paybill - are not paid a salary but receive a flat rate of £300 (tax free) for each day their noble presence is recorded in Parliament.
In addition to which they get their travel costs paid - and other noble expenses of course.
Apparently this happy event is caused by the House of Lords returning from its Easter break on Monday 23 April - rather than 16 April as originally planned.
But I've got a much better idea - why don't they just mothball the other place for a couple or three years - then abolish the House of Lords altogether.
Because that would save the country over £20 million and year - and it's about as painless a cut as you'll ever get.
