Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Kelly's Rule

Just been reading through Sir Christopher Kelly's Report on the terms and conditions of employment that will be available to MPs in future. Interesting stuff. But nothing unexpected. Most of it had been leaked already. BBC researcher asked me what I thought of it. Reality is that my opinion makes no difference. No-one else's matters much either.

I don't agree with all of Sir Christopher's proposals. But I cannot even see the point of outlining where I disagree. No-one is interested. Because of what has been going on over decades, there is no choice but accept the whole package. Too much dirty water has flowed under the bridge. Its what a large majority of the public want.

Its not easy to decide on appropriate reward for an MP. I've never thought it possible to properly compare the salary of an MP with other occupations. There should always be an unpaid element of commitment to public service. Anyone who believes the salary and support is not sufficient should go do something else. An MP is on a good salary, and even post-Kelly, the support regime is generous. Being an MP is a most wonderful privilege and responsibility. Time for quiet acceptance, a bit of humility, and a General Election to give voters the opportunity to express their opinion of how incumbents have behaved..

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

did you see opik on dragons eye tonight fighting for right to employ women hes sleeping with

Glyn Davies said...

I did, and must admit I thought he was making a fair point - even if I could not see the point of his making it. I too disagree with some aspects of the kelly recommendations, but it makes no difference. Such is the mess that total acceptance of the package is the only option I can support.