Phantom MEPs

This is interesting for two reasons:

The deal will mean they can draw full salaries and allowances at an annual cost of over £6 million without any legislative duties to carry out.

The 18 MEPs, from 12 EU countries, including Britain’s West Midlands region, will be paid more than £76,000 a year, with staff and office allowances worth £210,000.

Firstlythat such an amount of money is going to be spent on people who, by law, are not allowed to do anything.

The second is, well, have a look at what an MEP gets to pay their staff (the staff needed to cover a constituency which is 100 times the size of a Westminster one in some cases) and an office.

£ 210,000 a year. So when people shout about Nigel “getting” £2 million over 10 years in “expenses” this is what they mean. That he’s paid the staff he needs to do his job. There is no second home allowance, there is no furniture allowance. This is rather different from moat cleaning, I think we all agree?