London cost of living

Hamm

Hamm

At the Start
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/pol...t-enough-to-support-his-family-in-London.html

You would hope he would be sacked by Cameron - London is expensive, but it is not that difficult to find a flat for around £2,400 a month not far from the centre which would have satisfied his needs.

I don't understand why he needs to walk to work.

Could the Tories look more out of touch? If the average joe in England looks at this and see this guy's 'problem', what will they think?
 
Looks like an excuse to get out tbh..seems a poor excuse though..thought he could have come up with something better..like ...Cameron's a w*nker..I've got to get out
 
90k a year is hardly a massive wage. Without knowing his qualifications I'd presume he's realised he can make six figures for far less work. I don't see why politicians can't be mercenaries.
 
How much is property in the centre of London! I thought my flat was expensive at £450 a month, even though its 5 mins from the city centre on a bus, about a 25 minute walk, and a 5 minute walk from the beach lol
 
the issue here is that if its a real reason then how the heck do they expect ordinary people to exist on the meagre ..in comparison ..wages they get.

he's a disgrace if he can't live on that
 
From Wikipedia:
Born in Worksop, Simmonds went to Worksop College, then Trent Polytechnic, where he obtained a BSc (Hons) degree in Urban Estate Surveying in 1986. He became an Associate of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 1987. He worked as a surveyor for Savills from 1986–88 and was a partner in Strutt & Parker from 1988-96. He became a Director of Hillier Parker from 1997-9, then Managing Director of Mortlock Simmonds Brown from 1999 until becoming an MP, becoming Chairman.[citation needed]
 
It's not that he can't live on that.

It is that he doesn't want to live on that.

Of course it can be enough to feed and shelter him and buy him nice suits and a daily Americano. But it puts a strain on his life, so why do it? Life is too short.

I assume he will be able to get himself a job (maybe with a bigger salary, maybe not as well paid) that means he can spend more time with his family.

So he is faced with the sacrfice -> see very little of his family.
And the reward -> money and prestige.

For him the reward doesn't justify the sacrifice.

Personally, I don't think UK politicians are paid enough. Maybe this guy is an idiot, I don't know much about him. But personally speaking I wouldn't sign up to a life in politics at the current wages, given the range of other careers available to me given my earning power. I think you're losing too many potentially good politicians.
 
Bar the Bull said:
It's not that he can'tOf course it can be enough to feed and shelter him and buy him nice suits and a daily Americano. But it puts a strain on his life, so why do it? Life is too short.
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He cites the main reason as being that the current expenses do not provide sufficient to allow him to bring his children to live with him when he's in London.

2 things strike me as odd about this.

1) For £27k you could find accommodation in London, so he is not being truthful when he says he can't.

2) Why on earth would you drag your kids around the country with you - and if the actual reason is that he can't bear to be apart from them (which would be quite understandable and reasonable), then say so - don't blame it on the fallacious suggestion that you are unable to live in London on £145,000 a year, as if it is somehow the taxpayers fault.
 
It's not £90k, Slim, there's £28k London living allowance plus the £20k he pays his wife as office manager out of his parliamentary expenses.
He was a minister so presumably had to be in London more often than a constituency MP but for the 24 weeks from 22 July to 5 January, parliament is only in session for 14 weeks. Compared to servicemen, oil-rig workers and even long distance lorry drivers he doesn't have much of a case. It would appear that he's got the hump because he can no longer claim mortgage relief on his Putney house as well as his Lincolnshire mansion.
Absolutely fine if he 'wants to spend more time with his family' but to put a financial reason forward does make you wonder if he has much connection with the real world. Probably explains why he was an estate agent.
 
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Bar the Bull said:
It's not that he can't live on that.

It is that he doesn't want to live on that.

Of course it can be enough to feed and shelter him and buy him nice suits and a daily Americano. But it puts a strain on his life, so why do it? Life is too short.

I assume he will be able to get himself a job (maybe with a bigger salary, maybe not as well paid) that means he can spend more time with his family.

So he is faced with the sacrfice -> see very little of his family.
And the reward -> money and prestige.

For him the reward doesn't justify the sacrifice.

Personally, I don't think UK politicians are paid enough. Maybe this guy is an idiot, I don't know much about him. But personally speaking I wouldn't sign up to a life in politics at the current wages, given the range of other careers available to me given my earning power. I think you're losing too many potentially good politicians.
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I think you are being naive - he is not being this great family man, he is being this tsspot who thinks 2400 GBP / month for accommodation is not enough. Have a look at www.findaproperty.com and you will see you can get a flat of the size (bedrooms) he needs within 30 minutes of Westminster very easily. Being a minister he can take a taxi I would imagine and wouldn't have to take the tube with Clivex.

He lives on a different planet to everyone else.

If he wants to come out and say he wants to earn more money elsewhere, or he doesn't spend enough time with his family, fine - that however is not his argument.

Most importantly, can you explain how having ONLY 2400 per month for accommodation puts a strain on his life?
 
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Why are politicians expected to be on the morale high ground when no one else in society is?
 
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I don't expect them to be, but when they try to grab said high ground, they deserve to be held to account.
 
Hamm said:
I think you are being naive - he is not being this great family man, he is being this tsspot who thinks 2400 GBP / month for accommodation is not enough. Have a look at www.findaproperty.com and you will see you can get a flat of the size (bedrooms) he needs within 30 minutes of Westminster very easily. Being a minister he can take a taxi I would imagine and wouldn't have to take the tube with Clivex.

He lives on a different planet to everyone else.

If he wants to come out and say he wants to earn more money elsewhere, or he doesn't spend enough time with his family, fine - that however is not his argument.

Most importantly, can you explain how having ONLY 2400 per month for accommodation puts a strain on his life?
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Charming

I tend towards agreeing with btb but I never get why he had to go public with all this.

Choosing to live in putney isn't exactly the cheapest option on the commute either.
 
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What is charming referring to?

If 24k isnt enough for him, then he typifies the old school Tory. Good to see not all stereotypes are false..
 
clivex said:
What about their point of view?
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Yeah, they'd be glad of the break.

Back on topic, I think people have unrealistic expectations of politicians. He is making a trade-off between what he has to sacrifice and the benefits. The benefits aren't enough for him. And he is giving his honest opinion on why he is not taking the job.

Fair enough, I say. He wants to be with his family. So he would need a 3 bed house, and he doesn't want to commute. What is so wrong with that?

He's doing the right thing by himself.
 
clivex said:
I tend towards agreeing with btb but I never get why he had to go public with all this.
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I suppose he is going public about this because he believes that MP's wages are too low.

He doesn't appear to have done anything wrong, but he still gets calls of "disgrace". If you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

And believe it or not, £74k for an MP, and £20k more for a minister is peanuts to a lot of successful people.
 
if he can't live on that..and is in a job ..politicianing...that tells others that £x is a living wage..then yes he is a disgrace for whinging about not managing on 4 times more money than a large % of society

being a politician is about serving people..not making coin..its this greed..80's attitude...oh he could make more money etc menatlity that is what is wrong with a lot of society today...money money money

if you want money..go and earn it in a job that pays it..if you want to be a politician..then be one..not some greedy toad


as far as paying more money to them...MPs get more money now than they ever have in the past..and very few are any good..not for the people like many used to be..just self serving clones

so paying more money gets bland monkeys..that tow the line
 
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Bar the Bull said:
I suppose he is going public about this because he believes that MP's wages are too low.

He doesn't appear to have done anything wrong, but he still gets calls of "disgrace". If you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

And believe it or not, £74k for an MP, and £20k more for a minister is peanuts to a lot of successful people.
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Exactly. This is why politics in Ireland is full of school teachers and nepotism
 
Barry, I have no issue with what you are saying re paying top politicians more. A salary of 500k could easily be justified for cabinet ministers.

However, it is his tone and use of language that irks here - he seems to think that 24k can not get you a 2-3 bed flat close to Westminster. It can. Unless you want to live in luxury. And that is the point. He is very, very out of touch. If he wanted to be with his family so much, why be an MP in the first place? Wasn't he ever aware that politicians spend a lot of time in Westminster, which is hardly a bus ride from Lincolnshire, is it?
 
EC1 said:
if he can't live on that..and is in a job ..politicianing...that tells others that £x is a living wage..then yes he is a disgrace for whinging about not managing on 4 times more money than a large % of society

being a politician is about serving people..not making coin..its this greed..80's attitude...oh he could make more money etc menatlity that is what is wrong with a lot of society today...money money money

if you want money..go and earn it in a job that pays it..if you want to be a politician..then be one..not some greedy toad


as far as paying more money to them...MPs get more money now than they ever have in the past..and very few are any good..not for the people like many used to be..just self serving clones

so paying more money gets bland monkeys..that tow the line
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He is leaving and giving his reasons for leaving. Maybe you disagree with his reasons, but I find it frustrating that people think he is a disgrace for giving his rationale for making a career move. To me it is pretty clear that he is not whinging; he is trying to be constuctively transparent about the career move that he has made. Disagree if you like, but I think it is naive to expect people to put their family life at risk without compensation for the country.

I don't think it is about money money money. I think it is about work life balance. He can get a better balance elsewhere, that is cool. He's highlighting it. But people in the UK just want to shout uproar, say "what about the rest of us on lower wages?" and ignore the fact that lots of people will rule out such a career due to the strain it puts on one's life, without the necessary compensation.

And he tried to "be a politician" and he tried to put his family stress to the side in order to pursue a career in politics, but it didn't work for him.
 
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