The hysterical press reaction to a proposal to increase the
salary of MPs after the 2015 election explains exactly why we have got in a
mess with this issue.
For decades, all governments have dodged the issue of
setting a salary for MPs that reflects the level of responsibility they have in
the (accurate) belief that there would be an outcry if they tried to do so.
Instead, they allowed to develop a ‘wink and a nudge’ expenses system, the
horrendous excesses of which don’t need to be rehearsed here, but you may
remember second home flipping, duck houses, drained moats, dog food and dirty
films. Many less-than-honourable members had to pay back significant sums and a
few (some would say not enough) even ended up getting up close and personal
with the prison system.
So after that scandal, Parliament decided in 2009 to take
itself out of the process altogether, and set up the Independent Parliamentary
Standards Authority to determine salaries, expenses and pension arrangements.
IPSA has now done what it’s paid to do, and come up with a proposal following
research and consultation, that MPs salaries should be increased by about 10%
after the next election. There will also be some changes to expenses and
pensions to offset in part the additional cost.
Politicians – many of them privately very wealthy – are queuing up to deplore these proposals. Of
course they are not in a position to turn the proposals down, because they took
themselves out of the decision making process. This situation has led various
tweeters to criticise the Prime Minister for lacking authority/backbone/both. I
would refer such critics to the Law of Unintended Consequences. If you give
power away, the people you give it to may come to decisions with which you
disagree.
Imagine the furore if IPSA had concluded that MPs were, in
fact, overpaid, and proposed a 10% reduction. Would these same politicians be
so keen to appear on TV saying they wouldn’t accept IPSA’s findings? I very
much doubt it. And the howls of media derision would turn to paeans of praise.
So here are my thoughts on this thorny topic:
The salary paid to politicians should be a fair reflection
of the level of responsibility they take and appropriate comparators. Calls for
payment by performance are nonsense. That is judged through the ballot box, and
the power of recall if it ever gets enacted. I don’t know what that salary
level is: that’s why we have IPSA. Personally, I wouldn’t be unhappy if that
salary level was £100k, but with strings attached, which I’m coming on to.
Once set, the pay of MPs should be adjusted annually in line
with whatever comparator group is identified. The Civil Service is the obvious
one, but their may be others.
While no-one wants politicians who are motivated solely by
the salary, if we want intelligent and capable people to run the country they
must be properly remunerated. Former GP Dr Sarah Woollaston MP has said that
she took a £40k a year pay cut to become an MP – not many will be that altruistic.
And although I do understand that for the majority of the population a salary
of £66k is a king’s ransom, for a large number it really isn’t. Some of the
journalists baying for IPSA blood wouldn’t get out of bed for £66k. If salary
levels are not right, we will end up with a House of Commons made up of the
very poor and the very rich.
Everyone who works for an employer is entitled not to be out
of pocket for doing their jobs. There is nothing wrong with a properly managed
scheme of expenses to reimburse costs incurred wholly and necessarily incurred
in the course of their duties, and those calling for MPs to bear all of their
own costs are being disingenuous.
Being an MP should be a full time job with proper office
hours. It shouldn’t be a hobby or an act of philanthropy. It is not acceptable
for MPs to spend their mornings in court or running businesses and then popping
into the House for a few hours. The level of pay should reflect that.
The rules on conflict of interest need to be thoroughly
examined. The scandal of the number of politicians with business interests in
the private health sector, for example, should never be allowed to happen
again.
So there you have it. I realise that this will not be a
popular view but it’s how I see it. Feel free to disagree!
