£82,000...

[embee]

Originally Posted by Bibio

......i really dont get the politician bashing in this country. .......

The politicians themselves are the biggest "bashers" of all, they all hate each other. You only have to watch a few minutes of PMQs to realise that. If it's good enough for them, and they should know what really goes on, then it's good enough for me.

There are a handful of MPs who come across as decent honourable folk, I'm sure there are a few more which I've not heard anything about. It's simply that I can't feel I trust many of them to be honest and decent. They do what they think they can get away with. They seem to think the worst thing is being found out.

I believe they speak highly of me.

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by Bibio

he never broke any rules, he's a lawyer so should know. he was doing his job.

tbh i would have done exactly the same given the chance. lets face it either go to the Caribbean before lockdown (and be forced to stay) and earn £1k an hr or stay at home having to put up with uk public.... he could still deal with his constituents/parliament via email.

i really dont get the politician bashing in this country. if people dont like what politicians do then why do they keep voting for the big two... its not the politicians fault that most of the public in this country are dumb as fek media wh0rez who believe everything they are told. its like lambs to the slaughter.

btw i'm no lover of the government but they are needed.

I have envy of that level of income, of course, I admit that. But that wasn't my point.

I don't understand why, if he was wanting to continue with his lucrative job as a Barrister/Legal Adviser, he would choose to become an MP to serve the country by representing a constituency. Clearly he isn't willing to dedicate his life to public service if he won't give up the former job (or reduce it to the bare minimum required to retain a professional competence). He can't deal with constituents/parilament well if he's occupied with other things. IMHO, that's enough for me to legitimately query if he's the type we want in those positions.

My criticism isn't of the individual, it's of the system. I agree we have some means to change it, if enough of us vote differently, but gaining that volume of support seems a small, unlikely possibility.

Politician bashing is because reality increasingly falls short of the promises made. OK, so it's not their fault that the masses should know better, but that doesn't excuse them from selling snake-oil. They're supposed to set and uphold 'the standard', not take advantage of its limitations just because it's not breaking the rules.

I agree we need a Government. But we need them, and MPs as a collective, to have a very high moral and ethical mindset if they are to create good statutory framework and policy (that the rest of us will have little choice but to abide by).

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by embee

The politicians themselves are the biggest "bashers" of all, they all hate each other. You only have to watch a few minutes of PMQs to realise that. If it's good enough for them, and they should know what really goes on, then it's good enough for me.

I agree. The system nowadays seems to be based around power and fear, bullying and intimidation. The skills of nuanced, informed debating and respectful persuasion seem to have been lost. Mind you, it based on the concept of "the whip" to enforce discipline, so should we be surprised?!

Originally Posted by embee

There are a handful of MPs who come across as decent honourable folk, I'm sure there are a few more which I've not heard anything about. It's simply that I can't feel I trust many of them to be honest and decent. They do what they think they can get away with. They seem to think the worst thing is being found out.

I believe they speak highly of me.

I've met a number of MPs professionally in the course of my day jobs

It's true, many MPs are pretty decent, trying to be diligent and good constituency representatives. (It's seems to be a bit of a no-win situation tbh - you generally can't please everyone so there's always someone who complains or protests.) Unfortunately, it also seems that the lure and higher profile of the front benches, and the responsibilities and expectations that brings, ends up creating a different beast altogether.

I'm pretty sure some definitely wouldn't speak highly of me! A notable event was that I was once subject of a Freedom Of Information requested issued by a Cabinet-level MP. I was sponsoring a major project of the company I worked for in his constituency and we wouldn't simply do what he wanted (because it wasn't consistent with our responsibilities and considerations) so he in essence claimed we were corrupt and determined to plough on regardless, and then used FOI as a threatening tactic intended to get us to change our approach. Ah, the irony - his anger and single-minded, blinkered determination at the meeting we had was palpable! His way seemed to be the only acceptable option for him. I was actually more disappointed by the experience than anything: I wanted to witness an astute influencer up close but instead I saw nothing more refined than a toddler temper tantrum. Sad, really.

[Gordie]

Couldn't say, but I'll mention you on the site and see what happens.
Have you applied as Che Guevara there?

[CheGuevara]

Originally Posted by Gordie

Couldn't say, but I'll mention you on the site and see what happens.
Have you applied as Che Guevara there?

Thanks Gordie. I've PMed you here so as not to derail the thread too much

[Seeker]

If true, this is why we bash MPs:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-b1955687.html

and he missed Commons votes this week while on a business trip to Mauritius.
_____

Since the COP26 conference is not going so well, do we need to have a whip round to buy a fridge for Boris to hide in?

[Seeker]

More bashing...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-b1956146.html

tldr? 17 MPs (5 in Bozo's cabinet) are renting out their London homes and we, the taxpayer, are paying for them to rent (£1.3 miilion of our money on expenses)

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by Seeker

More bashing...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-b1956146.html

tldr? 17 MPs (5 in Bozo's cabinet) are renting out their London homes and we, the taxpayer, are paying for them to rent (£1.3 miilion of our money on expenses)

i cant read the whole story but does it mention where the mp's are renting the the other property's?

lets say that the mp's stay out of london, cant afford their own home or have a mortgage but under the rules have a property in london. they rent the property in london to subsidise the other property they actually live in. they might even "flat share" with their tenant in london when at commons.

so instead of letting the property that they are entitled to sit empty they are letting someone stay there. ok so they could have refused the property due to moral grounds but lets face it would you? how about they get the money that the property is worth as a one off payment instead? they are entitled to the property.

i would do exactly the same given the chance.

[Bibio]

its not the politicians that cause the problems in this country but the fekin media.

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by Bibio

i cant read the whole story but does it mention where the mp's are renting the the other property's?

"Former attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox sparked outrage after it emerged that he was claiming £1,900 a month for his taxpayer-funded flat while claiming a rental income from a home elsewhere in London."

Originally Posted by Bibio

its not the politicians that cause the problems in this country but the fekin media.

I disagree. If it wasn't for the media highlighting this ̶c̶r̶o̶o̶k̶e̶d̶ unethical behaviour, we would never learn how dishonest our MPs can be, BoZo is desparate to undermine the independent watchdogs.
The Priti Patel fiasco is now going to court because BoZo overruled the watchdog's report on her (guilty) behaviour.

The head of the ethics watchdog resigned over this and BoZo didn't replace him for 6 months and then with the option of (BoZo) choosing which matters get investigated - so much for an independent watchdog.

We don't have a written constitution but we have unwritten rules that MPs are supposed to follow, these rules are enforced by independent watchdogs. If their independence is removed, our democracy is at risk.