Taxi Driver Online

You have the views of the majority, the majority of people vote in their representative within the constituency.

Neil and Glenys Kinnock received more than £10million in pay, allowances and pension entitlements during their time working at the European Union in Brussels.

The astonishing figure can be revealed after a Mail on Sunday investigation into the couple’s lavish lifestyle funded from the public purse.

Lady Kinnock, who was appointed Europe Minister by Gordon Brown this month, was an MEP for 15 years. Her husband, who failed to win a General Election as Labour leader, was an EU Commissioner for ten years until 2004.

Their generous package of salary and perks included:

* A total of £775,000 in wages for Lady Kinnock and £1.85 million for her husband, adding up to £2,625,000.
* Allowances for Lady Kinnock’s staff and office costs of £2.9million.
* A £64,564 ‘entertainment allowance’ for Lord Kinnock.
* A total of five publicly-funded pensions, worth £4.4million, allowing them to retire on £183,000 a year.
* A housing allowance that allowed them both to claim accommodation costs although, as a married couple, they lived in the same house in the Belgian capital between 1995 and 2004.

Now back at the centre of British politics, Lady Kinnock has been elevated to the House of Lords while her husband played a key role in quelling last weekend’s rebellion against Mr Brown.

The Mail on Sunday questioned a spokeswoman for the Kinnocks in detail about the figures, calculated by the think-tank Open Europe. It campaigns for greater transparency in Brussels.

She disputed only one figure – a ‘transition allowance’ Lord Kinnock received on his departure from Brussels, worth £355,143 at today’s exchange rate. She said the true figure was lower, but refused to reveal it.

The European Parliament does not publish a breakdown of expenses that MEPs have to claim, rather than receive automatically, so Open Europe has estimated Lady Kinnock’s travel costs based on the average for MEPs.

These are in addition to her wages and the allowances she was eligible to receive automatically. The estimates are £1,179,482 for travel between Britain and the Continent over 15 years, and £45,777 for travel outside the EU.

Lady Kinnock is entitled to a transition allowance running into tens of thousands of pounds, designed to keep ex-MEPs going until they find new employment, but her ministerial appointment means she will forgo it.

He is married to Glenys Kinnock, currently Minister for Africa and The United Nations, and formerly Minister for Europe, Labour Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wales from 1999 to 2009, and MEP for South Wales East from 1994 to 1999. When she was made a life peer in 2009, they became one of the few couples to both hold titles in their own right. The two met while studying at University College, Cardiff, where they were known as "the power and the glory" (Glenys the power), and they married on 25 March 1967.[10] Previously living together in Peterston-Super-Ely, a village near the western outskirts of Cardiff, in 2008 they moved to Tufnell Park, London, to be closer to their daughter and grandchildren[11]

They have two children, Stephen and Rachel.[12] Stephen is married to Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who is the leader of the Danish Social Democrats political party. He is assistant director of the British Council, which is chaired by his father, in Sierra Leone. Rachel works in the Political Office at 10 Downing Street under Gordon Brown.

Actually, the majority usually vote for someone other than the first past the post winner. A majority is usually considered to be 50% or more of the people who vote, in case you have forgotten.
I wonder how many MP's could claim that?

Let's not forget the importance of a local representitive.
Most people don't even know who their MP is.
He's the guy who turns up every few years, pretending he's everyone's friend, telling lies about what he's done for the people and what he's going to do if they vote for him again.
In many constituencies, you could pin a blue or red rossette on a monkey and it would get elected. At least it saves the incumbant from having to do the bullchit visits and baby kissing.
So much for the "local" MP who everyone knows and trusts.
Did I say MP and trust in the same sentence?

The result is always the same - the tail wagging the dog.

Then of course their's Britain's best known quango - the house of lords. No one votes for them.
They are mostly failed MPs who didn't manage to get voted back in and got shoved onboard the gravy train by their mates who did. Some are mates of this or previous governments who got appointed as thanks for services rendered.

No wonder the biggest single vote in this election will likely be for nobody at all.

If you believe this is democracy, you need some serious help.
It's a sham and little better than a banana republic.
We just have a strangely civilised way of holding a coup.
Instead of executing our former leaders, we send them to the lords.

Don't vote - it only encourages the barstewards

The general election is just two days away.

For the first time in over a decade, there is a real and serious threat that the Tories could come back to power.

On Thursday - polling day - we are not just deciding who holds the keys to Downing Street. We are voting on jobs, on our public services, and on our rights - whether to elect a government that will protect them, or a government that will put them at risk.



The Labour movement has always relied on trade unionists and grassroots campaigners coming together to protect jobs and fight for workers' rights. We have never needed to fight more than now.

Helen

The general election is just two days away.

For the first time in over a decade, there is a real and serious threat that the Tories could come back to power.

On Thursday - polling day - we are not just deciding who holds the keys to Downing Street. We are voting on jobs, on our public services, and on our rights - whether to elect a government that will protect them, or a government that will put them at risk.

The Labour movement has always relied on trade unionists and grassroots campaigners coming together to protect jobs and fight for workers' rights. We have never needed to fight more than now.

Helen

the trouble is if there was a no-vote vote, there would always be just 1 voter who did vote, can you imagine goverment on that basis?

It wouldn't be so bad if my vote actually counted, but it doesn't so I have decided the whole system is corrupt and not worth bothering with.
You might be led, but I am sure as hell not going to be...... period

And you will be one of the first to complain when you don't like what the government do.

And you will be one of the first to complain when you don't like what the government do.

I see you take a live and let live approach to life.... and very commendable it is.