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Fat Cat Tories
November 10, 2008 1:00 PM
Cllr Graham Longley, LibDem leader on Southend Borough Council and Parliamentary spokesman for Rochford & Southend East expressed amazement at the comment from some Tory MP's to an article in Friday's Independent newspaper about David Cameron's plan to ban shadow cabinet Tories from having second jobs because he thinks that this makes them look like part time politicians.
David Cameron has come under attack from his own MPs who are reluctant to give up their lucrative other jobs, many of them saying they could not afford to live on an MP's salary of £61,000 a year and might need a top-up from Tory funds if they were told to give up their outside jobs. Of course as a cabinet member they would get even more!
In his amazement Cllr Longley said "that many people would like a job in the first place. Not only that, many people would be very happy with a salary of £61,000 plus all the perks they get, especially pensioners who struggle in many cases just to pay for their heating.
It is quite clear that many Tory MP's are out of touch with the real world and need to be realistic especially in the current financial climate. Voters elect MP's to go to parliament to represent them not to be part time members whose focus may be elsewhere with second jobs."
Cllr Longley issued a challenge to Southend's local MPs to tell the local electorate whether they were full or part time MP's and to explain why with all the expenses they get, they might feel they need more than £61,000 per year of taxpayers money.
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