Election Year or Fear!

[Geoff Parkstone]

Like shooting fish in a barrel

[swaledale]

Like shooting fish in a barrel

Yes I do feel its rather easy to demolish your rather pathetic attempts to appear clever, do try harder old chap.

[Andy_Faber]

I see the you have "good" German syndrome. Shame GP has made himself look a fool, but there we are, pearls before swine and all that.

I’ve worked out where you get your strange phraseology and constant Nazi references from - youre just lifting them from the words and activist tactics of someone else! That’s just plagiarism in another form! No I’m not naming names you already know of course. Try to be original, I’m sure that unlike the dim, thick and foolish amongst us you have it in you.

[ramAnag]

For clarification, to return to topic and, as was the original intention of the thread, keep all the politics (rather than the ‘bitching’) in one place…

The BBC revealed yesterday that last year GBNews paid Farage’s company - ‘Thorn in the Side Ltd’ - £97,928.40.
Apparently he also receives £4000 per month from the Daily Telegraph and was paid £1551.29 from ‘X’ (Twitter) and £853 from Meta.

This is all in addition to his £91,346 MP’s salary.

Of course for much, if not all, of the time Farage was receiving such income from GBNews he wasn’t an MP however this should all surely raise questions over a) whether already well rewarded public ‘servants’ should be allowed access to second (or even 3rd & 4th) incomes and b) the links between elected politicians, or ‘wannabe’ elected politicians, and the media.

[Andy_Faber]

For clarification, to return to topic and, as was the original intention of the thread, keep all the politics (rather than the ‘bitching’) in one place…

The BBC revealed yesterday that last year GBNews paid Farage’s company - ‘Thorn in the Side Ltd’ - £97,928.40.
Apparently he also receives £4000 per month from the Daily Telegraph and was paid £1551.29 from ‘X’ (Twitter) and £853 from Meta.

This is all in addition to his £91,346 MP’s salary.

Of course for much, if not all, of the time Farage was receiving such income from GBNews he wasn’t an MP however this should all surely raise questions over a) whether already well rewarded public ‘servants’ should be allowed access to second (or even 3rd & 4th) incomes and b) the links between elected politicians, or ‘wannabe’ elected politicians, and the media.

Personally I don't think any serving politicians (MPs or those in other positions of political influence) should be paid for media exposure where that media relates to political activities (and I mean as a commentator, not an interviewee), but second jobs of other sorts I'm OK with, I can exercise my level of agreement on that score at the ballot box

Prior to his election to parliament, good luck to the fellah!

[swaledale]

I’ve worked out where you get your strange phraseology and constant Nazi references from - youre just lifting them from the words and activist tactics of someone else! That’s just plagiarism in another form! No I’m not naming names you already know of course. Try to be original, I’m sure that unlike the dim, thick and foolish amongst us you have it in you.

Have you indeed? Constant Nazi references? Mm occasional but then perhaps your counting system is different to mine, but the so is your perception, of 1. reality, 2. facts and 3. What constitutes plagiarism.

I mean you post a German phrase, I responded with a elated comment, not had to figure out why really!

Oh please do name names, because I'm waiting with baited breath for you to enlighten me!

[Geoff Parkstone]

Although this rather sounds like bitching about Farage making money for himself. Just like any other working person in the country has the right to do - for so long as it's legal.

But turning to the generalities, there is a question here about whether MPs should have multiple jobs outside parliament. Of course if they didn't, then the taxpayer would have to pay them much more, so it's to the exchequers benefit that they do: after all 90k pa is barely more than train drivers are getting - and would you want Mick Lynch to running the country (cue shouts of "he'd make a better job of it than the Tories")?

I wonder how many MPs would resign if they were unable to have a second job? Around 200 had second jobs in the last parliament, but with the high recent turnover in MPs that may be different now.

In a perfect world then, being an MP should be ones sole job, enabling the MP to focus on what he/she/they/it/choose your ptronoun was/were elected to do, so we'd need to shake that money tree some more - although with the pay rises being handed out in the public sector most of the leaves will have fallen off that tree soon (if there were any there to start with).

On subject of which, I heard one of the most ridiculous arguments in favour of high pay settlements on the radio a couple of days ago. Evidently it's OK to give out these settlements because "it's self funding as the Treasury gets it all back in higher taxes from the recipients". Now it will get some back I grant, but I've not seen much evidence of 100% tax rate in this country....yet!

[ramAnag]

Although this rather sounds like bitching about Farage making money for himself. Just like any other working person in the country has the right to do - for so long as it's legal.

But turning to the generalities, there is a question here about whether MPs should have multiple jobs outside parliament. Of course if they didn't, then the taxpayer would have to pay them much more, so it's to the exchequers benefit that they do: after all 90k pa is barely more than train drivers are getting - and would you want Mick Lynch to running the country (cue shouts of "he'd make a better job of it than the Tories")?

I wonder how many MPs would resign if they were unable to have a second job? Around 200 had second jobs in the last parliament, but with the high recent turnover in MPs that may be different now.

In a perfect world then, being an MP should be ones sole job, enabling the MP to focus on what he/she/they/it/choose your ptronoun was/were elected to do, so we'd need to shake that money tree some more - although with the pay rises being handed out in the public sector most of the leaves will have fallen off that tree soon (if there were any there to start with).

On subject of which, I heard one of the most ridiculous arguments in favour of high pay settlements on the radio a couple of days ago. Evidently it's OK to give out these settlements because "it's self funding as the Treasury gets it all back in higher taxes from the recipients". Now it will get some back I grant, but I've not seen much evidence of 100% tax rate in this country....yet!

It’s not ‘bitching’ at all, GP. It’s a simple question of whether an MP can be doing his job properly if he has such time to devote to other income related activities. Can imagine your response if a teacher/doctor/police inspector was found to be committing hours per week to a second job.

I’d prefer to live in a country run by Mick Lynch than travel on a train driven by Farage, Johnson or Truss…and £90k (plus expenses) seems quite a lot to me. Maybe one of us is a little out of touch.

Any MP’s who’d resign if they were unable to do a second job shouldn’t be a source of concern imo. Better off without them.

Agree that ‘being an MP should be one’s sole job’ and that the argument cited in your final paragraph is ‘ridiculous’.

[Andy_Faber]

Can imagine your response if a teacher/doctor/police inspector was found to be committing hours per week to a second job.

All my teacher and doctor friends have friends have second jobs.

[ramAnag]

All my teacher and doctor friends have friends have second jobs.

Really? Slightly confusing sentence…but I’m amazed and if that’s the case I’d suggest they a) aren’t doing their (full time) jobs properly and b) have no business complaining about being overworked which, in my experience, many teachers are…and for a lot less than MP’s receive.

P.S. Or maybe it’s a double bluff and you don’t actually have any ‘teacher and doctor friends’…or maybe just one of each.

P.P.S. Seriously…I think the average current UK salary is somewhere between £35-36k. If MP’s can’t be satisfied, while representing their constituents, on approaching three times that amount then they’re in the wrong job for the wrong reasons…imo.