00:00 Well, the question of what we pay our MPs is one that's been knocking about for as long
00:06 as I can remember. The fact that they're going to be paid, because of course this is being
00:10 decided by an independent review body, 91,000 plus, is beyond the dreams of many people.
00:17 Now, of course, if I put in context the fact that the average wage is just about under
00:21 34,000, and of course that includes bonuses, and of course a lot of people have paid an
00:25 awful lot less than that, the idea of earning 91,000 plus expenses, and of course MPs are
00:32 so allowed to have external earnings, you know, within the rules as it were, as I say,
00:37 big sort of money for many people, and of course there is a degree perhaps of average.
00:42 That's around three times what the average worker earns. A salary of over £90,000 for MPs does seem
00:49 a lot. However, some would argue it should be more. They say that by paying more will attract a better
00:56 calibre of candidate, so important perhaps for running the country.
01:01 Well again, you know, that's a good argument for the so-called professional MPs, and indeed I do
01:07 accept that if you're the sort of the chair of a company or a senior executive, yeah, they're not
01:12 going to sort of work for 90,000 plus, you know, dare I say, all the sort of beauty you get being
01:17 in the sort of the public eye and being sort of the beck and call of your constituents.
01:20 The thing is though, it's then the sort of questions of where the extra money might come
01:24 from, if you're going to pay them what, a quarter of a million pounds perhaps, you know, is that
01:28 enough to attract the sort of people we're talking about? I don't know, maybe, but I don't think we're
01:33 there at this moment.
01:35 It's been widely reported that record numbers of MPs will be resigning before the next election.
01:41 Is salary a major factor in that decision?
01:45 They probably hope that by sort of leaving early they'll sort of get on the gravy train and they'll
01:48 get the sort of the jobs that sort of attract the money. We hope of course that in the next
01:51 parliament we have sort of re-able people, because dare I say it, this country has
01:56 significant challenges in the sort of the years ahead.
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