Eric Pickles on Question Time last night
Discussion
Did anybody else see it? Great car-crash TV.
He was trying to defend his supposed need to have a flat in central London paid for out of the MPs allowance when his own home is 37 miles from Westminster.
The audience turned on him, and he did himself no favours at all by saying that he would have to get up early to get to work on time if he didn't have the flat! Welcome to the real world Eric...
Now I firmly believe that we should pay our MPs well to attract the real talent, and some of them do need second homes. But they really should set an example to the rest of us by not doing what I think are effectively legal 'fiddles'. It just damages their reputation and our faith in them to run the country (if indeed we had any in the first place).
I really think the MPs need to get this sorted out - they should be able to stand in the light of any public scrutiny, I mean they are our employees after all.
Oh and Michael Winner was also highly amusing on the show last night, very un-PC. If you didn't see it last night get on the iPlayer and watch it, best one for ages.
He was trying to defend his supposed need to have a flat in central London paid for out of the MPs allowance when his own home is 37 miles from Westminster.
The audience turned on him, and he did himself no favours at all by saying that he would have to get up early to get to work on time if he didn't have the flat! Welcome to the real world Eric...
Now I firmly believe that we should pay our MPs well to attract the real talent, and some of them do need second homes. But they really should set an example to the rest of us by not doing what I think are effectively legal 'fiddles'. It just damages their reputation and our faith in them to run the country (if indeed we had any in the first place).
I really think the MPs need to get this sorted out - they should be able to stand in the light of any public scrutiny, I mean they are our employees after all.
Oh and Michael Winner was also highly amusing on the show last night, very un-PC. If you didn't see it last night get on the iPlayer and watch it, best one for ages.
Martial Arts Man said:
Last week was better.
You mean Fern Briton saying that women wouldn't have allowed the banking crisis because they were traditionally good at looking after housekeeping? That really was a great moment in the show's history.I don't normally agree with them bringing on these random celebrities to talk nonsense about stuff they don't understand, but there have been a few classics recently.
esselte said:
He did quite a bit of muttering under his breath...did you catch any of it?
No. He was getting really flustered though and couldn't speak properly, wasn't he? Strange to hear in an age when most of our politicians are polished obfuscators. It would have good to have been a fly on the wall in his house later when he got home.Really cheap shot at the LibDems when he was trying to defend himself as well.
Edited by TankRizzo on Friday 27th March 13:05
skoff said:
Martial Arts Man said:
Last week was better.
You mean Fern Briton saying that women wouldn't have allowed the banking crisis because they were traditionally good at looking after housekeeping? That really was a great moment in the show's history.I don't normally agree with them bringing on these random celebrities to talk nonsense about stuff they don't understand, but there have been a few classics recently.
As an aside, I think ConHQ dropped the ball letting Pickles do the show last night. The questions on MPs' expenses was always going to come up.
Obvious and totally avoidable mistake.
esselte said:
Eric was pretty cringeworthy wasn't he?Especially whenhe said he had to be at the House for a specific time each day and Dimbleby said " Oh,just like having a job then Eric?" Made me smile...
Yes you have to hand it to David, a perfect dig.So do the PH collective think that MPs have lost touch with reality? If so, then how do we change it? Or do we want to change it at all?
I think we should start with getting rid of these allowances and putting up their wages a bit.
skoff said:
esselte said:
Eric was pretty cringeworthy wasn't he?Especially whenhe said he had to be at the House for a specific time each day and Dimbleby said " Oh,just like having a job then Eric?" Made me smile...
Yes you have to hand it to David, a perfect dig.So do the PH collective think that MPs have lost touch with reality? If so, then how do we change it? Or do we want to change it at all?
I think we should start with getting rid of these allowances and putting up their wages a bit.
But who determines whether a 2nd home is a worthy expense or not?
Why should the MP for Inverness get the benefit of a 2nd home allowance but the MP for Bromley not so?
So are we saying that after every late-night debate in the Commons, Eric Pickles has to find his way back 37 miles to his house (say 90 mins in a cab), whilst the MP for Powys Gwyneddd just has a 5 min stroll back to his Belgravia flat, paid for by the taxpayer? Hardly fair.
Why should the MP for Inverness get the benefit of a 2nd home allowance but the MP for Bromley not so?
So are we saying that after every late-night debate in the Commons, Eric Pickles has to find his way back 37 miles to his house (say 90 mins in a cab), whilst the MP for Powys Gwyneddd just has a 5 min stroll back to his Belgravia flat, paid for by the taxpayer? Hardly fair.
Fittster said:
skoff said:
Now I firmly believe that we should pay our MPs well to attract the real talent, and some of them do need second homes.
How much do you think the salary should be to attract real talent?I wouldn't be an MP for less than £100K, PM no less than £150K.
What annoys me most about the public's anger regarding MPs' pay is that number one, folks seem not to understand that there are some things, like offices, that are unavoidable and legitimate expenses. Number two, is that we have the country moaning on the one hand about how useless our leaders are, and on the other suggesting they should work for essentially less than they do now. These things are connected!
Maybe we should pay them based upon how many or what percentage of votes they received. Winky would then earn nothing.....hurrah!
ipitythefool said:
But who determines whether a 2nd home is a worthy expense or not?
Why should the MP for Inverness get the benefit of a 2nd home allowance but the MP for Bromley not so?
So are we saying that after every late-night debate in the Commons, Eric Pickles has to find his way back 37 miles to his house (say 90 mins in a cab), whilst the MP for Powys Gwyneddd just has a 5 min stroll back to his Belgravia flat, paid for by the taxpayer? Hardly fair.
37 miles is hardly the other end of the country....what's fairness got to do with it..surely it should be based on logistics...Why should the MP for Inverness get the benefit of a 2nd home allowance but the MP for Bromley not so?
So are we saying that after every late-night debate in the Commons, Eric Pickles has to find his way back 37 miles to his house (say 90 mins in a cab), whilst the MP for Powys Gwyneddd just has a 5 min stroll back to his Belgravia flat, paid for by the taxpayer? Hardly fair.
esselte said:
skoff said:
esselte said:
Eric was pretty cringeworthy wasn't he?Especially whenhe said he had to be at the House for a specific time each day and Dimbleby said " Oh,just like having a job then Eric?" Made me smile...
Yes you have to hand it to David, a perfect dig.So do the PH collective think that MPs have lost touch with reality? If so, then how do we change it? Or do we want to change it at all?
I think we should start with getting rid of these allowances and putting up their wages a bit.
The extra money I think should be to tempt more high flyer execs into the job to increase the general level of ability in the House of Commons.
Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff