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'I support MPs' 1st class train travel as long as it's at a 1st class price' blog

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  • cit_k
    cit_k Posts: 24,812 Forumite
    harryhound wrote: »
    That is why everything is being monitored by CCTV systems, it is now surrounded by a 4ft wall of concrete slabs and patrolled by gun toting police, with reinforcements hidden up nearby side streets
    And those are the ones in uniform?!


    Would gun toting cops stop a 9/11 style attack on parliament?
    [greenhighlight]but it matters when the most senior politician in the land is happy to use language and examples that are simply not true.
    [/greenhighlight][redtitle]
    The impact of this is to stigmatise people on benefits,
    and we should be deeply worried about that
    [/redtitle](house of lords debate, talking about Cameron)
  • meher
    meher Posts: 15,910 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    there was a related article in the timesonline
    Lilies have been gilded and shower cubicles heated, but no fortunes have been made on the back of MPs' expenses. In the end only a range of rusting barbecue sets, redundant sofas and middle-market PVC-framed conservatories stands melancholy witness to a cruel demeaning of democracy by an unwitting conspiracy between a self-harming House of Commons and pious news media.

    This relentless kicking away of the respect in which the electorate hold their politicians cannot be allowed to continue.
    I'd agree with Matthew Parris although only in part here:
    The question
    ...
    is whether in the first place we should be compensating MPs for the cost of keeping a second home by: (a) paying them a salary which allows them to make their own domestic arrangements; (b) giving them a standard, flat-rate, one-size-fits-all housing supplement to their salaries; or (c) trying to frame rules about what's claimable, then asking them to submit receipts.
    ...
    I'd go for (a). I'd add £30,000 to their salaries
    ...
    After the most almighty hoo-hah for about a week, MPs would still be paid less than many GPs and everyone would lose interest. And at a stroke we would have removed what will otherwise remain a bottomless pit of ammunition for the cheaper-minded sort of MP, for feral parliamentary candidates, for hungry journalists - and for anybody else with an itch to denigrate the honourable profession that, despite this week, politics in Britain still is.
    because to me the ideal sitaution would be if we had members with an elite profile, no salary, instead perks that reflect their nobility and the public feeling the pinch kept to a bare minimum. But that's by the by.

    Re travel: the privilege isn't about the money but the reasonable comfort it offers them to travel a lot and frequently without it affecting them personally or compromising on their performance. You can make out from the reservations many have, that first class is something exceptional, and who else should it be intended for other than those who don't belong to a category of those working just 9-5, considering the responsibilties they have taken on.
  • cit_k wrote: »
    Any MP friends martin? Any agenda behind sucking up to the theives and trying to make out their actions are not worth bothering about?

    You know that it's for sitting on - not speaking out of, don't you?
  • harryhound
    harryhound Posts: 2,662 Forumite
    edited 28 February 2010 at 3:10AM
    cit_k wrote: »
    Would gun toting cops stop a 9/11 style attack on parliament?

    No but presumably that is why it is no longer possible to put your bag on one plane and your body on another. Why we go through long delays being X-rayed and wanded at the airports and at government buildings; not to mention having our steering wheels tea bagged in case we have been handling explosives. Why we have to allow USA customs to inspect containers at our ports not theirs and provide our finger print to be allowed entry to USA.
    There is probably a computer some where monitoring this conversation - You bring the Semtex in your briefcase, I'll bring the matches. You might get stopped if you turn up with our dirty bomb in a ruck sack.:eek:
  • MSE_Martin
    MSE_Martin Posts: 8,272 Money Saving Expert
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    cit_k wrote: »
    The other thing, you would have to ask the mods/board guides about, someone else asked permission to post about a documentary that is being researched that will expose the benefits medicals as being unfair/unethical etc, and they were denied the opportunity. Surely exposing unfair practices is what this site is all about?

    Now this makes sense and the answer is explained on this page...

    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/contacts Under the 'looking for case studies section' it is a general policy not a specific one.
    Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert.
    Please note, answers don't constitute financial advice, it is based on generalised journalistic research. Always ensure any decision is made with regards to your own individual circumstance.
    Don't miss out on urgent MoneySaving, get my weekly e-mail at www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips.
    Debt-Free Wannabee Official Nerd Club: (Honorary) Members number 000
  • Terrorist magnet.
    The accommodation block is being worked on - I've heard that part of the London Olympic Village will be used for MPs' accommodation after the complete shambles of the 2012 Olympics is over.
  • Stryder
    Stryder Posts: 1,134 Forumite
    The interesting element of this thread is the fact people are so focused on the details, and little on practicalities.

    MP's should not have to do any of the worrying/planning of sorting out travel. Legitimate travel should be made available. And it should be first class if they wish, as they should be working (at least on long journeys) whilst they do. This is a fair trade I think. Get first class, and work (read/review/write/etc). If MP's choose not to go first class, then that is a bonus to the budget, and they may get to meet more of the people they represent.

    People who run big corporation do not sort out there own travel. They have secretaries and teams that do it, and it is there responsibility to get the best deal.I would rather the MP's focus on either meeting people or working, rather than looking for the best bargain. Therefore, they should be sorted at a national level. You could in theory have a small team in Westminster doing all the travel arrangements for all the MP's; or give them travel warrants and the cost of travel could be sorted out by the centralised team at the end of each month.

    Issues of 2nd homes is more complex. It maybe more appropriate to only pay for renting, or for the state to purchase homes on behalf of the MPS so that they keep the value of the property when the MP leaves. Another way would be to cap the amount (or give it a fixed rate). Finally, we can keep it how it is and accept its a perk that they get. I would be interested in how any fair changes would noticeably change the budget.

    The idea of parliamentary ghetto's seem horrendous to me. Apart from "Brighton Bombing" style attacks; who want MPs living together? Many have a slight skewed view of the world as it is. Giving them an enclosed space where they just spend time with each other will only make them more and more distant to real life. The suggestion is more reminiscent of dictator ships (fascist and communist) where the ruling elite look after each other.

    I think this thread has become chaotic. I think Martin was trying to make a general point that government can be an unwieldy animal and does not spend the effort in looking at basic options such as as alternative ways of paying. However, it is not possible to write a thread like this and it not be rather political. Sadly political discussions bring out the reactionaries an out. I can understand why Martin took such umbrage cit_k (which I think were slightly silly, especially if meant without any tongue in cheek) but I think its distracted from the point of the thread.

    To be honest, I disagree with much of Martin's article but it is just his opinion. Even if he did have reason to be biased, it would not invalidate his opinion. Just because someone has a bias does not mean he is not right. And I do not think he has to explain himself (or should any of us) for there opinions unless they are actually representing people (like MP's do).

    The irony is of course, if people showed as much passion when it came to the election as they do at complaining, the political makeup of Britain would be very different.
    ............... Have you ever wondered what
    ¦OO¬¬ O[]¦ Martin would look like
    ¦ _______ ¦ In a washing machine
    ¦ ((:money:)) ¦
    ¦
    ¦
    ¦''''''''''''""""""¦
  • voiceofreason
    voiceofreason Posts: 1,948 Forumite
    Stryder wrote: »
    The irony is of course, if people showed as much passion when it came to the election as they do at complaining, the political makeup of Britain would be very different.

    Quote of the day, right there! :T
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