A golden insult

HERE'S another unnecessary cost that David Cameron must spare the nation – the £10m paid in "golden goodbyes" to outgoing MPs at the election, many of whom were left tainted by the expenses scandal.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Jun 2010, 23:27 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2010, 23:27 BST

Given the generosity of the Parliamentary pension, it is surely wrong to pay ex-MPs up to 65,000 in resettlement grants when most are retiring – or switching to new careers outside politics.

Yet many, with ex-Cabinet ministers Stephen Byers and Patricia Hewitt being prime examples, were touting their services as lobbyists months before the election was called.

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This absurdity is compounded when one examines some of the other names concerned – former minister Barbara Follett, who is married to a multi-millionaire author, is entitled to 43,393 while Alex Salmond is entitled to 64,766, even though his decision to leave Westminster means he can concentrate, full-time, on his well-remunerated job as Scotland's First Minister.

And the discrepancies do not end here – there are loyalists in the main parties, like John Prescott, who find themselves being handsomely rewarded for shifting their place of work from the Commons to the unelected House of Lords.

In short, this is a golden opportunity to end these payments before they cause even further embarrassment.

Related topics:Alex SalmondDavid CameronMPsJohn PrescottFirst Minister