In the news

Nah they'll ride it out I reckon. News cycle is so f-ing fast these days.

For major news in 2018, the average was 7 days.

Would be very curious to know if that is different in 2021.

WAR with the EU!

We'd need to go for a nuclear decapitation attack on all European countries seats of government I suspect, otherwise we'd lose, probably quite fast.

I was thinking about how much Owen Paterson got paid for relatively little work and wondering what guarantee and oversight his paymasters had that he actually did what they paid him to do? Until he got busted, could his backers know for sure that he actually sent those letters or took those meetings?
There must be a lot of faith involved in that deal. And if so Patterson would have been paid at the sort of discount you'd expect to get on a used car – you pay less when you don't know exactly what you are getting for your money.

Which made me think about how much a lobbying service would really be worth. What would be the going rate for a definite result?

Randox won contracts worth £500 million from the government. In that respect, Paterson’s fees were minuscule.

Boomer chat coming up on the W@1 on R4 with Humphries and Snow! A lunchtime treat as they rage against the passing of time?

How much?

These MPs are so cheap!

Yes, their ambition is pathetic - if you're going to divert £500M to a company make sure that you get at least 10%.

I wonder if the low prices make it more mentally justifiable, or if it's the long game for a big cushy job down the line?

it's the long game for a big cushy job down the line

This. It’s a ticket to the board of several international corporations, with all the perks and frills, plus invites to events, holidays, paid speaking engagements… And if it’s not for them it’s for their children or siblings or spouse.

Only the truly foolish politicians take actual money while in office.

Or those with 6+ children, a £27,000 takeaway habit and innumerable vices.

Only the truly foolish politicians take actual money while in office.

I have no idea what its like for politicians but in my experience of occasions of witnessing fraud in the public sector (as in fraudulent activity by private sector for privatisation contracts in the public sector), the people who take kickbacks do so in a way that can't easily be pinned to them.

If MPs are taking dirty money, there are ways to make it less likely you will be caught out.

I have no idea whether MPs do or not.

Which makes me think that someone, somewhere is being paid a fuck load to make the really big contracts happen. The kind of sums that could corrupt (nearly) anyone. Just better hidden of course.

I suspect this doesn't happen too much now, more and more people are looking for it. I reckon it's more about the long game, consistently spread a bit of money, get MPs on board after they've finished so others will be aware of what's to come, make yourself part of the furniture so your company is an easy option to turn to, etc

Yeah, this. Take a (not inconsiderable) amount for 'consultancy' whilst an MP, plus a few shares, plus a few sponsored holidays etc. After leaving, get bumped up to the Lords and/or get a very well-paid directorship as long-term payback for services rendered.

Yep. Easy. As long as there's no record of the deal and there's some break between doing the work as an MP and receiving the well-paid position later it seems you're in the clear as far as any of the standards committees are concerned

Our local hero (apparently, as declared) earns £800 a month from his ‘other interests’.
So mostly true in this instance.
Apart from the fact that the basic salary for the representatives excludes any of these people being ‘poor’.

Imo, MPs salary should be £200k + and there should be an absolute ban on second jobs. Paying £130m a year for a parliament of high ability people with reduced incentives for corruption would be money well spent.

Fairly sure this will be an unpopular opinion though.

That doesn't prevent the long game thing, if that is something that happens.

You could give all ex-MPs a pension and ban them from ever working again but even then they might do favours for Big Corp in exchange for a directorship for their nice but dim offspring or something.

And they’re ambitious, risk-taking people by nature. Unless there was a serious penalty for corruption to make them want to play it safe, I’d expect all of those mice to ask for a cookie to go with their milk.

No I totally agree with you. Attract the kind of people that the private sector can attract

Banning second jobs also fucks over Doctors and some other professions who need to maintain a certain level of involvement. You'd just cut off those kinds of people from considering becoming an MP.

(And we're not being fucked over by Doctors who are also MPs.)

The problem with the "Pay them £200k to attract real talent" is that £200k still isn't going to be enough to prevent them from being corrupted, or to get "top talent".

I really don't think you can solve MP corruption problems by paying them substantially more.

paying MP's more while cutting UC to the most vulnerable.

sounds about tory.

200 large is chump change to these venal fucks, and next week they'll be demanding 300 and so on.

You boys are looking in the wrong place re Westminster.. the real action has always been in local govt..