Much like bankers’ bonuses, any talk of MPs’ salaries tends to elicit Pavlovian outrage. Any revelations about second homes, foreign jaunts, bath plugs and indeed soft porn fuel public prejudices about greedy MPs with snouts in troughs. And of course it they are manna from heaven for journalists (who are of course beyond reproach when it comes to expenses). It is all perfectly understandable - we should expect those who represent us to behave honestly and with integrity. But we also need to recognise that it is utter madness to expect MPs to fund the geniune costs of serving their constitutents (like running a second residence) from their own pocket. Being an MP should not be the preserve of the rich. So let's pay MPs enough so that those with the talent and determination can afford to serve the people. What depresses me most about the situation is that MPs themselves appear to lack the will, guts or indeed imagination to come up with a system which does just that. Perhaps it is time for them to stop having a say in what they are paid and pass it to someone else, dare I say a civil servant?
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