knew
Posted Friday, 22 May 2009 at 10:22
During an interview on the R4 Today programme (and abouta dozen times since) I said the following - ish:" No PrimeMinister has ever had the political courage to award MPs anappropriate level of pay commensurate with theirexperience, qualifications and position; as recommended by the SSRB, year after year. Prior to my intake in 2005, MPs were sat down by the establishment and told that the ACA was an allowance, not an expense, it was the MP's property,in lieu of pay; and the job of the fees office was to help themclaim it."Whatever opinion you may have about that, and Ihave my own, you cannot ignore the fact that this was thesystem put into place, because no Prime Minister ever,including my heroine, has had the political courage toaddress the issue. Everyone in the political and media worldknew it.At a drinks party the other evening, I had aconversation with Stephan Shakespeare the owner of YouGov. I put to him that MPs prior to my intake had beentold for many years that the ACA was in lieu of pay."Yes, wehave all known that" said Stephan. "Everyone knows that,the question is how do you move forward, what will be put inits place?"When Stephan said "we all" what he meant of course, was the political and media establishment.The BBCknew it. Every single journalist knew it. The interviewer onthe Today programme this morning, who interviewed me,knew it; and Martin Bell probably knew it because he wasgiven the same rule book as everyone else, when he becamean MP 12 years ago. He was also, allegedly, the best friend of the Labour party as detailed in Alastair Campbell's diaries.The system was a disgrace, an appalling disgrace; but it wasthe system and everyone knew it.If MPs prior to 2005 weresat down and told "this is your pot of money with your nameon it, and our job is to make sure you have it as it's really part
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