Hague to give up his second jobs

David

http://www.conservatives.com/expenses/expensesPopup.html

Shadow Cabinet expenses now online.

What with Hague, I think this crisis has cemented Cameron's grip on the top of the party.He's coming out of this much stronger.

Kevyn Bodman

You've overstated this.
It wouldn't be suicidal.
Outside interests and second jobs can be reasonably defended.

If this is a short-term tactical decision in the run-up to election then fair enough.
If it's a strategic decision, or any sort of admission that it is wrong for Shadow Cabinet members to have outside interests then it's unwise.

MPs should be in touch with the outside world.
And in Hague's case he has a marketable skill as a speaker that wouldn't detract from his Shadow Cabinet work at all.

One dinner, one speech, one evening's work and a few thousand pounds. Why not?
It takes up no more time, and is probably just as refreshing as a night at the opera, or a day at the races.

kinglear

What a message this sends!If DC is really really going to do this the Tories will be in for a very long time.

Verity

Dear God! Can't Cameron get anything right in his quest to look strong and leaderly? Any one, tiny thing?

What is wrong with second jobs?

Is the current scandal about MPs with the energy to have a second job in the private sector, or is it about troughing on the taxpayer?

Has anyone complained about MPs being out in the real world creating wealth and paying taxes? Personally, I would like to see it made mandatory.

Cameron is tone deaf. He doesn't seem to understand what the public revulsion is all about. IT IS NOT ABOUT SECOND JOBS! (Sorry for shouting.) It is about MPs stealing from the taxpayers from their privileged position as MPs!

Cameron has a tin ear. I despair.

Ian

When are Blears, Hoon and Darling giving up their 2nd Jobs or is property development not couted as a job?

Harry

'The story has just broken'
I am a great fan of Coffee House, but I'm afraid I heard about this last night on the BBC's This Week with Andrew Neil.

Pete Hoskin

Harry: it was no secret that Hague was planning to drop his outside interests, eventually..

But it is news that he's committed to ditch them by September.

Chris

Hague should give up politics and stick to after dinner clowning.

Tiberius

You should talk to your Chief Exec more often, James ;)

Verity

Second jobs should be mandatory for MPs. They demonstrate a connection to the wealth-creation sector and the taxpayer.

Once again, Cameron races to pick up the wrong end of the stick. The scandal is about troughing on the taxpayer, not having the enterprise to be making additional, legitimate, money outside Parliament.

David Logan

Am I alone in thinking that the some members of the Shadow Cabinet, notably Hague, are employable and have the capacity to earn substantially greater sums outwith politics but are still willing to give some of their time to politics in opposition (ie with no executive responsibilities whatsoever) is a good thing that allows the real world to break into Westminster? It seems to me that this is the consolidation of a professional political class (which is not a good thing) and a serious discouragement to those of ability who are willing to contribute. This line has been sold by the make work brigade who boast how hard they work without measuring the quality or utility of their output. I think it is a retrograde step for our political system which desperately needs to bring in people of ability.

THX1138

Just being checking with a couple guys who work for big Co's their contracts all require the permission of their employer to do a 2nd job..

Do MP's have a formal contract of employment?

DSR

Verity - I sincerely hope that you are going to take the opportunity of some Tory deselections in the coming months to put your money where your increasingly tiresome mouth is.

Go on - stand on your arguments.
See if your increasingly dogmatic anti-Cameron stance (put pro-what, exactly?) wins you the opportunity to share your views with the public.

Kevyn Bodman

Are you censoring again?

My comment, more or less saying outside interests are OK and should only be dropped if that's necessary in an election run-up, hasn't appeared.

Kevyn Bodman

Oops. Now it's up.
What happened?

R

It's sad that it's considered to be a bad thing for MPs to have a second job, but I suspect at the moment this might be a politic move.

The rot set in when they started to pay MPs in the first place.

Derek Wicks

Surely, we want politicians who can think and be prepared to act for themselves, possibly within the requirement for party discipline. If a politician is beholden to his party for his livelihood, he risks intellectual and moral prostitution to the party bosses. He should be able and encouraged to have whatever independent sources of income will not trammel his responsibilities to his constituents. Meanwhile, his salary and expenses should be paid solely by his constituents. That would help wean the members from the public trough and might help concentrate the voters mind on what quality of man they were electing.The dependence of members of parliament on government for their income reinforces the pernicious trend toward making the government purchase its electorate through the creation of jobs in the state sector. Parliament, in this way, tends to become one giant rotten borough.

Derek Wicks

I agree with Verity's initial comment that the expenses scandal is about theft, not second jobs. In that connection, the Daily Mail reports that it is joining with the Taxpayers' Alliance to consider the propriety of private prosecutions and quotes Boris Johnson as saying "I think, frankly, looking at some of these cases it looks to me as though Plod needs to come in".

Ben Elford

Second jobs are surely a good thing for MPs. However, it's probably tactically necessary, for the time being, to close down this area of possible vulnerability to Brown's attack.

Any ban doesn't have to be a matter of principle, and permanent. It may be a question of educating the electorate, later on, on the propriety of members have outside interests and experience.

Hysteria

what Verity said (mainly)

dracula

I cant see anything wrong with anyone doing two jobs instead of one, as long as the first doesn't interfere with the first or vice versa. In the case of MP's, outside experience of any kind has surely got to be a good thing, and if it supplements expenses then hooray

Verity

Derek Wicks - This is an interesting post and you should enlarge on it with more specifics.

Re Boris Johnson's comment, I am no fan of his but his behaviour here has been exemplary. He says plod needs to come in. Plod should already be in, given how quickly they were in to ransack Dominic Grieves's office without a warrant and without a 'nay' from either the Serjeant at Arms nor the Speaker.

JohnAnt

Poor Ffion. Now Hague'll be hanging around the place, giving after-dinner speeches at home at full volume.

JohnAnt

I think Cameron is mistaken on this. The 'outside jobs' issue, btw, was introduced by Labour spinners, as if it was something the public worried about. it's not. Certainly doesn't worry me. The professions are full of excellent people who are in high demand outside their workplace. As long as it's done accountably and outside working hours, no prob.

Verity

JohnAnt - Why would Hague be giving after dinner speeches at home? Surely you understand that the point of an after dinner speech, from the point of view of the speaker, is a capitalist one? Money?

You seem bitter.

Verity

JohnAnt - why do you make this remark? If a neurosurgeon takes some time off, does he "hang around the place" doing neurosurgery at home all day?