Friday’s Rant from the Soapbox in MY Living Room – Dear MP’s with large mortgages….

Welcome to Friday’s Rant. 

This week, if you keep up with UK politics in any way, you will have seen that two senior MP’s have got into some serious hot water, because apparently, they have been doing some slightly dubious dealings where they have been trying to earn some extra cash, above what they are paid as working Members of Parliament. (approximately £67,000 per year plus expenses and other perks)

Part of me thinks that there should be rules about what MP’s can earn above and beyond what they are salaried to do their jobs, and part of me understands that some MP’s may have taken pay cuts to join their political parties and become elected. I understand they have late nights, long working days, travel away from their families etc. 

Part of me is not at all sympathetic, especially when I hear that the MP’s in question are asking for £5000 per day for work outside of their MP jobs, and then justifying it. Apparently MP’s have “Large mortgages to pay and lifestyles to maintain”.

That’s where I stop being sorry for them, and start to think, “hmmm, your average nurse gets much less than £67,000/year, has had their pay rises capped, pensions frozen, over time earning ability removed, and basically has to clean up other people’s poo, and still pay their mortgage, travel, childcare, and other expenses and survive financially every month” but of course I should feel sorry for someone who’s salary is paid by those same nurses taxes, but is apparently not enough and they have to go out and sell themselves for 5k a day… What one of those MP’s is earning in a day is probably double a nurses monthly salary. How does that makes sense? Not to mention all the other public service providers out there, earning far less than what an MP is paid. Why should we feel sorry or think it’s ok? Why when half the country cannot afford to buy their own home, and with rents soaring, should I feel sorry for an MP who has to pay off a “large mortgage and manage the lifestyle they are used to” ? Let’s not even go there about how much tax avoidance is probably going on, behind the scenes either, whilst HMRC is busy harassing the average working person to pay up….

Seriously? This country is crumbling, and the more I hear about this sort of thing, the less inclined I am to want to vote, much less live here and pay my taxes to people who are so busy trying to make more money, when they should be concentrating on actually trying to run and sort out our country. 

I honestly despair. This post was partly motivated by hearing the news that a good friend of mine, a very dedicated and excellent nurse, of many years experience, has just quit the profession, because she simply cannot take the stress of working in the NHS any more, and basically does not earn enough money to live, and support her family as a single parent. She now has a job working in sales, where she makes less  salary, for less hours, but  she isn’t working 12 hour shifts and paying for childcare (that’s another rant entirely) so she is able to cope better, but of course, we must make sure our MP’s are looked after and their large mortgages are paid. The NHS lost a great nurse, when that is the last thing it needs, but as long as our MP’s are financially looked after, that’s somehow ok! 

That’s my rant. Feel free to share yours..