Parliament’s out for the summer – and Shropshire MPs are heading to anywhere from the breathtaking vistas of Scandinavia to the picturesque pastures of the UK.
With salaries starting at £60,000 for backbenchers and rising far higher for ministers, not forgetting the perks that come with the job, many members of the public have long complained that nearly three months away from their Westminster desks is excessive.
However, MPs from across the county will be far from living the easy life during the 82-day recess, but they will be trying to squeeze in a break away with friends and family in between looking after the interests of their constituents and official business.
Owen Paterson will be kicking off the parliamentary recess with a visit to Neil Sadler’s farm at Edstaston in Wem to see his state of the art milking system.
He will also be meeting with campaigners to discuss local problems facing post offices, as well as healthcare issues.
The North Shropshire MP has no concrete plans yet to jet off into the sun, but will be spending the bulk of the summer months in his constituency, as well as carrying out his official duties as shadow Northern Ireland secretary.
He said: “I am not planning to go away this summer for more than a couple of days and will continue with my programme of visits in Shropshire and Northern Ireland as well as national political activity. My offices will continue to be fully manned throughout the summer recess.”
Telford MP David Wright is planning a two-week break in Norway, but said he would be spending the rest of his time in his constituency.
The Labour MP will be visiting a number of businesses in the area, holding credit crunch surgeries as well as door-stepping residents to discuss any issues of concern.
Philip Dunne is planning a “Meet Your MP” mobile surgery tour of his Ludlow constituency, calling in at no fewer than 50 villages in and around the area.
The Tory MP has also planned a week-long break-away to Scotland.
Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski has no plans for a summer holiday yet, but said his diary was filled with appointments on constituency-related business.
Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard has volunteered himself to help win votes for his party in two by-elections in Newport and Wellington.
“I will also be holding surgeries and meeting with as many of my constituents as possible,” he said.
By London Reporter Sunita Patel
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5 Comments
An 82 day recess? My wife and I struggle on a minimum wage, we have managed to get our two kids away, but we haven’t had a holiday in 18 years. How the other half live, I doubt our MP’s know what it is like existing from one week to the next.
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Reading the above comments and listening to the odd debate on the radio/tv it seems the good old British public are moaning about the time off MP’S etc are getting.However it seems to me mp’s / teacher’s infact who ever it may be if they are getting more money/time off in the mps case, and more time off in the teachers case, than the average employer, they do not moan that it is WRONG they are moaning becouse they are not getting it and are refused access to the gravy train.
If the good old general public are going to moan about it moan becouse it is wrong not becouse you are not getting it too.
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It’s easy to forget that in the melee of the MPs’ expenses scandal, there is still a majority of good constituency MPs who have acted responsibly throughout, and who are not ‘on holiday’ during the recess, but spending much of their time dealing with problems that arise for their constituents.
The plans of the MPs in the article don’t seem excessive or decadent to me.
Steven – £60k a year is relatively little compared to what many of these people could earn in business or the professions – if you begrudge them their pay, then the option is yours to join a political party and put yourself in a position to be a candidate.
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If they were literally spending three months kicking back on a beach then my comment would have been like Steven’s. However, unlike Steven, I read the article rather than guessing at its content. A few week’s holiday and the rest of the time working in their constituencies sounds very reasonable to me.
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At his weekly press conference, when asked how he could justify MPs taking 83 days off, Gordon Brown said that in addition to MPs requiring this time for Constituency business dealing with surgeries etc, they had a large amount of “CAMPAIGNING” to do.
This is a grotesque abuse of Parliamentary time and the first time that a PM had admitted that extra time was being allowed for “CAMPAIGNING”.
Most MPs leave Westminster for their Constituencies on a Thursday and don’t return to London until late Monday. This gives them ample time to do Constituency work but with the poor standing of Labour, they have to drain every last day to make up to the people who put them there for their failings.
It is another gravy train pure and simple and again we are taken for idiots.
The problems of the country are all halted whilst MPs are given almost 3 months off to try and secure there positions next time around. It is an abuse and utterly wrong.
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