Forgetting about MP salary for a moment, I'd quite like to see government ministers drug tested and security cleared (financial checks etc). Not because I necessarily think that people who take drugs or have dodgy finances can't be good at their jobs, its more about the principle that people leading government departments should be held to the same standards as their staff. See also accepting hospitality and using whatsapp for government business etc.
The salary thing is a Thatcherite red herring, yes.
What would improve MPs behaviour is effective regulation: a strict code of conduct and financial regulation, and a disciplinary body with active investigatory powers backed up with funding and claws.
Forgetting about MP salary for a moment, I'd quite like to see government ministers drug tested and security cleared (financial checks etc). Not because I necessarily think that people who take drugs or have dodgy finances can't be good at their jobs, its more about the principle that people leading government departments should be held to the same standards as their staff. See also accepting hospitality and using whatsapp for government business etc.