Except they have no involvement at all in the process. Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) was created in 2009 in response to the expenses scandal. They regulate the expenses system and MP's pay, meaning our elected members wouldn't be voting on their own pay rises again. Of course this seems great when you assume they just want to line their pockets but not so much now they want to stop the pay increase but can't do anything about it.
Some have said they will refuse the increase but as this would technically be illegal they would have to change the law to make it happen. You might think this is a good idea but you would be wrong, that would set a precedent. Whenever a decision came out from the IPSA that parliament didn't like they could change the law to change the outcome. Any attempt to undermine the IPSA's decision would mean it's creation was pointless. But I have a radical solution.
I would double MP's salaries, I'll just let that sink in for a moment because I am serious, we double their salary. The reason being is that the best minds in the country don't go into politics because they can earn so much more elsewhere. It would explain the number of millionaires in parliament, they don't need to earn the big bucks and can do a job of their choosing.
Alongside this mammoth pay increase I would halve the number of MP's. Whilst also doing the same with ministerial jobs, not the front bench roles obviously but there are now so many junior ministerial positions there must be some pruning that can be made. As with everything in life quality is better than quantity. The increased salary will attract more bright minds to parliament, improving the quality of work done and subsequently our quality of life.
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| Less is more |
Lastly I would set up a block of managed apartments for the now far smaller group of MP's. I know this would be a terrorist target but with them all in one place security would be easier to arrange. Somewhere comfortable, good internet and close to the office, that's all they need.
This will obviously never happen. But whatever we think of our not so honourable members we can't put pressure on them to change this IPSA decision. If they had said no to a pay rise and MP's got involved you would be screaming about their involvement in an independent body.
UPDATE: As one reader pointed out second jobs should also be banned for sitting MP's under this arrangement. In all honesty I think that should be the case now. HT @pcaschere
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