In the news

I agree with that, but I really doubt that the thing putting more low paid people off being an MP is the fact the pay is high, rather than all the other really obvious stresses, threats to personal safety, requirement for party political allegiance, etc.

Donate them to me, I’ll share your burden

Obviously it's not the only thing, there's the lack of school contacts, lack of inherited wealth, no real route to the job in a bottom up sense, having to spend most of your effort eeking out a living, not owning an ill fitting suit and possessing morals, it's certainly a factor that encourages the fact it's a job for the"elite" though, one that I image would be easy to talk people round on, but also one I feel is unnecessary as I think MPs are already overpaid.

Has this been resolved yet?

News is pretty slow these days huh

Maybe that’s it - i don’t think they’re overpaid. I don’t know any other jobs where death threats and violent abuse are commonplace, or where the demands are so varied. Doesn’t mean I think they’re all doing a good job (far from it), but benchmarked against most other jobs I can think of? Not a good deal.

Yes, there are other jobs which may be harder in some ways and pay worse. But I’m not sure dragging MPs down to a lower pay level just because you can find those examples is particularly progressive.

As for the other stuff - what has inherited wealth got to do with being an MP, unless you think that they need prior money to do the job (which kind of goes against everything else you’ve said)? And I don’t really feel that a general ‘slag off MPs as if they’re all the same’ really helps anything much. You’re stereotyping all MPs as if they’re all Tory of a certain ilk.

Yep

https://www.newsweek.com/we-are-way-right-wing-coup-cia-director-privately-warned-1647538

Writing on the wall?

The left in the US needs to push back smarter and harder, and the govt in the UK needs to be really careful about what they get themselves into.

I don’t know any other jobs where death threats and violent abuse are commonplace

Like... many jobs. Maybe not from as many people but emergency services, NHS staff, mental health workers, taxi drivers, kebab shop owners, parking attendants, bouncers.

But I’m not sure dragging MPs down to a lower pay level just because you can find those examples

It's not just because I can find examples, it's because I think it would mean they better represent the average person if they lived like them.

As for the other stuff

That bit was tongue in cheek, I've been far too serious today. But the inherited wealth thing doesn't go against anything I've said. Having the ability to not have to work means you can spend your time trying to get elected, without that you need to work and probably not in something that'll get you into a job as an MP, I don't think that's a good thing though.

Yeah I’ve worked in hospitality / with door staff and the level of threat / violence is not the same as with MPs. 2 have actually been murdered in the past 5 yrs… that is a ludicrous level of risk. I don’t think you can credibly compare the risk to MPs with the risk in those professions, for the most part.

I think it would mean they better represent the average person if they lived like them.

I think this is the best argument - I have thought this as well and it is the main counter-argument in my own mind to higher pay levels.

I kind of think the level of pay at the moment might be the worst of both worlds - high, but not high enough to actually be more than lots of professional jobs. MPs don’t have to live like the majority but nor is it enough to tempt people away from a lot of careers.

Almost 3,600 ambulance workers were assaulted last year alone https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jun/02/ambulance-crews-in-england-to-get-body-cameras-after-30-rise-in-assaults .

I think you’re overrating the risk and threat to MPs.

I did start writing about the recently murdered MP a bit earlier when you were on about risks but didn't want to be too crass comparing threats and stuff, none of it is good or acceptable, but it's hardly just MPs. I'd imagine the threats are more but the actual level of assault, recent two tragedies aside, isn't. It's obviously different but other jobs have danger involved in other ways too.

.

Support worker for people with learning disabilities and mental health needs is serious and demanding

That's a reasonably well paid job over here, it might even be too well paid as it's attracting all kinds of venal underqualified lowlifes to an industry they shouldn't be in... There's a shortage of trained staff and a lack of regulations so the sector is full of shady people on the make...

Back to square one...

all kinds of venal underqualified lowlifes

Yeah, I did it for a number of years.

Ha, me too...

Seriously tho', I got into it because it was such a refreshing change from working for the man and for the first time in my life it felt like the work I was doing was making a big difference to someone's life...

Every day I see people coming into the industry because the money's good, there's so much financial abuse, it's disgusting, heartbreaking, frustrating, etc, etc... It's criminal that the government let it happen...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mp-second-job-rashford-elphicke-b1956289.html
"Tory MP who said Marcus Rashford should stick to his day job has second job"

maybe if feckless, venal shits like Elphicke and her kind did their day jobs, Rashford would have more time to devote to his.

hateful cunts.

They're filming in Brighton, some people are saying a comic playing Savile is a horrible idea.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-59254298?

Got a chuckle from me

.

Got a chuckle from me

What this bit ?
Pharmacist Jamie MacConnacher discovered the two front tyres of his Land Rover had been flattened on Thursday morning.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/glasgow-city-centre-to-ban-cars-over-next-five-years-pb68687sk

he needs a large car as he often faces "challenging conditions" on the road in winter

WTF? are the roads that bad north of the border?

Yeah they truly can be. Snow gates in place all over the A9