11% pay rise for MP's!!!!!

[technodup]

I'd rather have MPs who have/continue to have jobs, directorships etc as it means they at least have some idea of how the real world works.

You are having a laugh aren't you? Outside the Royals and their chums I don't think there's a group of people less aware of 'how the real world works'.

There's MPs from all walks of life. Men, women, careerists, inherited wealth, self made money, union men, doctors, lawyers, blind, disabled etc etc. Some do one term and get punted out, others do a lifetime. To label them all the same isn't helpful.

I'd rather a MP group made of older people who have life experience than Milliband and Cameron clones doing the think tank>SpAd>MP careerist politician route.

I'm not particularly interested in their pay, although I recognise that PR wise this isn't a great move, regardless of the detail. But then when your reputation is so bad one more thing won't make much difference.

And while we're on MPs I should show some respect to Jim Murphy MP who for many reasons I'd normally call a ****. However getting mucked in helping the Clutha victims and speaking with some dignity on TV deserves some recognition. Fair play.

 

[Mijiblob]

Generally best to ignore technodup, by his own admission what he says is bollocks.

I'd cottoned onto that fact pretty quickly. Stuff like this merely confirms my suspicions:

Yes. From Britain's most famous plumber... How much does a typical Pimlico Plumber earn?
They earn up to £40,000/£50,000 if they are fully qualified and on call. It wouldn't be unusual for a Pimlico Plumber to earn that much. It is possible to earn £100,000 like the plumber that appeared on the BBC show

Using an anomaly does not prove a normality. And now, some more resonable figures:

After four years' training, a qualified plumber will start on £20,000 at a medium-sized firm. This wage increases with experience, hours worked and the sort of plumbing carried out, with average earnings around £30,000.

Self-employed plumbers earn the most. They can charge up to £90 an hour, and so could potentially rake in £1,000 each week. This obviously depends on demand and hours, but with the current skills shortage expected only to increase, a tradesman can virtually dictate prices.

Some city plumbers earn up to £50,000 a year, making the job one of the best paid trades

(The bits in bold are quite important and you need to pay attention to them)

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2002/n ... es.careers

So, I think we can safely conclude that plumbers, on average, earn quite a lot less than MPs.

Added to the fact that it's very unlikely, given the demands on an average plumber in terms of working hours, that they'll be able to take a second job, unlike many MPs. And whilst it's entirely possible that a small number of plumbers might earn more than some MPs, I'd say that yer average MP is probably quite a bit better off than yer average plumber.

Loving the way certain posters assert their views as fact and yet expect others to provide evidence. Wind and pish every time.

 

[CTK]

+ MPs dont actually have to spend any money as they can claim EVERYTHING on expenses.


Saying that I think it would be a good idea for MPs to have a payrise. 11%, 15% whatever. But along with this payrise would be a reduction of expenses to zero and a tightening up of their pensions.

 

[Mijiblob]

How much can a plumber claim on expenses?

 

[FluffyChicken]

I should hope an MP is better off than a Plumber and a Head Teacher in a school for that matter.

We put them there do a job for us, voice our opinions blah de blah blah. There are quite a lot of us they represent. If they're no good at it and you think they're all bad and you think you can do a better job, then go for it. Not something I wish to do.
At the end of the day, the puplic put them there, be it voting or not voting for them.

 

[FluffyChicken]

How much can a plumber claim on expenses?

Whatever he/she can get under the Tax radar

 

[Mijiblob]

Ooh, contentious...

 

[technodup]

Self-employed plumbers earn the most. They can charge up to £90 an hour, and so could potentially rake in £1,000 each week. This obviously depends on demand and hours, but with the current skills shortage expected only to increase, a tradesman can virtually dictate prices.

Some city plumbers earn up to £50,000 a year, making the job one of the best paid trades

(The bits in bold are quite important and you need to pay attention to them)

If you spent more time reading and digesting your own quotes rather than patronising others you'd notice that £90/hr resulting in £1000/wk equals one lazy arsed plumber. I work with many small businesses/trades and would fully expect a significant part of their income to be unaccounted for, making your analysis void. Cash is king. Tax is for PAYE plebs.

There will be plumbers in London earning more than MPs ffs.

No mention of averages there.

You went a long way around but you got there in the end.

it's entirely possible that a small number of plumbers might earn more than some MPs,

 

[Mijiblob]

If you spent more time reading and digesting your own quotes rather than patronising others you'd notice that £90/hr resulting in £1000/wk equals one lazy arsed plumber.

And if you spent more time thinking about the realities of that particular job, rather than simply scouring desperately for anything to help you in your very flimsy argument, you'd possibly understand that plumbers don't do a steady 35/40 paid hours a week, and in fact a lot of their time is actually spent travelling between jobs, to suppliers for parts etc, or just waiting by the 'phone. Time they're mostly not actually charging for. Therefore their actual hours spent working can easily be less than 10 per week, in total. Hence the need to charge a seemingly high rate, to compensate.

You'd of course know this if you actually knew what the job entails.

No mention of averages there.

You were suggestion that perhaps plumbing is a better paid profession. Without any real compelling evidence. Personally, your comments just come across as 'wind and pish', quite frankly.

Now; let's have a look at those pesky expenses, shall we? Yes, let's.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mp ... ls-2270270

Two prominent Tory right-wingers who campaigned against the minimum wage are paying their wives the highest salaries.

Jennie Bone, made famous by regular mentions in her husband Peter’s Commons speeches, pockets between £45,000 and £49,999 after receiving a pay rise as his office manager.

Her new salary puts her on the same as Christine Chope, who is employed as a secretary by husband Christopher.

Oh dear. :| Still, at least plumbers can earn more, eh?

 

[technodup]

You'd of course know this if you actually knew what the job entails.

I'm well aware of how a plumber works thank you, I have several as clients. A plumber only working 10 invoiced hrs in a week is either a lazy plumber, a shit plumber or a shit businessman.

Although if he is doing a further 10 off the books then he is a smart plumber. And earning more than the MPs.