What is it with New Labour and money?
For years senior government ministers have seemed obsessed with hoarding personal wealth. First there was Peter Mandelson who used a millionaire snake to climb the property ladder. Then there was David Blunkett doing a bit of consultancy during his gap year. Now it’s Tessa Jowell’s many mortgages.
The common thread here is of eminently comfortable upper middle-class people aspiring to the lifestyles of the super-rich - the Berlusconis, Murdochs and Bransons - who swirl around "the project" like so many uber-rich groupies.
Rather than accept their more than adequate cabinet salaries, minister after minister has blundered into shady dealings to secure themselves a Tyrannosaurus-sized nest egg for the day when the ministerial car drives off for the last time. Dear Leader himself is no exception, preferring to socialise with the jet set, obviously longing for the day when he too will have his own yacht.
There is something deeply wrong with public servants lusting after lifestyles which are beyond the ken of the public at large.
Politics may be an ignoble calling but it is still a calling. People may get involved in politics from a desire to change the world, or from a lust for power. But anyone who’s in it for the money is a fool. The only road to riches for a politician is the Charlie Haughey route, the way of the brown paper envelopes. The ultimate destination is always disgrace.
What is needed is for politicians to be paid less rather than more. Currently MPs earn more than the national average. Each member should instead be paid the median wage for their constituency. Let them live as an ordinary punter lives. When the economy grows and the median wage rises, the MP will reap the benefit. Likewise when times are tough, they will feel the pinch.
The Jowells, Mandelsons and Blunketts would no doubt despair at such an ‘austerity’ regime. Not a problem. The private sector would welcome these fine people’s considerable talents with open arms.
Politics would be none the poorer for their absence.