A Conservative MP has spoken out about what he sees as the struggles of living on an MP’s salary, the news comes on the day Universal Credit has been cut for the most vulnerable in the country.
Sir Peter Bottomley, the ‘Father of the House’ as the MP in the Commons with the longest continuous service, called it ‘desperately difficult’ for many of his colleagues.
He thinks MPs, who are paid £81,932 annually, should be paid the same amount as GPs – whose average salary in England is £100,700.
This is in comparison with the average salary across the UK that was £31,461, as of last year.
‘I take the view that being an MP is the greatest honour you could have, but a general practitioner in politics ought to be paid roughly the same as a general practitioner in medicine,’ he told the New Statesman.
‘Doctors are paid far too little nowadays. But if they would get roughly £100,000 a year, the equivalent for an MP to get the same standard of living would be £110-£115,000 a year – it’s never the right time, but if your MP isn’t worth the money, it’s better to change the MP than to change the money.’
Although he said he currently is not struggling financially, he believes the situation is ‘desperately difficult’ for his newer colleagues.
The representative of Worthing West in West Sussex added: ‘I don’t know how they manage. It’s really grim.’
Twitter user Dave Morris wrote: ‘He has empathy for his fellow MPs but obviously not to the majority of his constituents.
‘I find it hard to believe anyone can be this out of touch, is he taking the p**s or sharing a private joke with his mates?’
Tia Millar said: ‘Such arrogance. Talk about rubbing our noses in it when today your Government has taken away £20 per week for working poor.’
Others sarcastically commented things like: ‘I feel so sorry for them, it must be really hard to make ends meet,’ and suggested a GoFundMe page be set up for ‘struggling’ MPs.
When asked what keeps him in the Commons, he said: ‘I’m still an MP because I’m still alive and people vote for me.’
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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