Andrew Pelling calls on councillors to be more open about earnings
By Ian Austen
ian.austen@essnmedia.co.uk
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CALL FOR OPENNESS: Andrew Pelling MP
Andrew Pelling has called on Croydon councillors to be more upfront about their external wages - after admitting he can earn £1,000 an hour working for a Japanese finance company.
The Croydon Central MP also wants councillors, particularly senior members, to reveal how much time a week they put into council work to justify their allowances.
Mr Pelling is calling for the changes after last week's full council meeting was told that information about wages and hours worked for the council was not kept.
He then raised the issue in Parliament with John Denham, secretary of state for communities and local government, asking if the Government was prepared to tell councils that were cutting services to also "make similar cuts to councillors' salaries."
Latest figures published for 2008/09 by the council show that all members received a basic allowance of £11,880 but many received a top up for special responsibility.
Council leader Mike Fisher received £53,410 while Labour opposition leader Tony Newman received around £33,500.
Most cabinet members received between £43,000 and £47,000, although allowances have been frozen for two years.
Mr Denham said councillors' remuneration was devolved to local authorities.
But recognising that independent MP Mr Pelling had raised a valid concern, he added: "At a time when its is important to use every taxpayer pound as effectively and efficiently as possible, those authorities with particularly high levels of councillor remuneration may need to consider their policies."
Mr Pelling stressed he had no qualms about revealing what he earned on top of his £60,000-a-year MP's salary.
His declarations of interest show that in August last year he earned £6,240 for six hours' "client relationship work" for the London office of Tokai Tokyo Securities Europe Ltd.
Two declarations for September 2009 show he earned the same amount for six hours' and eight hours' work and in November £6,240 for working 12 hours.
He admitted: "For six hours a month this is a good wage, it is just that I am very fortunate that I can command such a wage."
Mr Pelling said the wage reflected his 30 years of experience working in the City.
He added: "I think it is important that MPs have some career experience outside Parliament.
"The problem is there are too many who have worked for no one but their party and are therefore unable to say boo to a goose because it might affect their future Parliamentary career."
Mr Pelling believes the £6 million the council has spent on allowances over the past four years is too high.
"(This) money would be better spent on things like providing extra police," he said.
Councillor Fisher says if regulations were introduced insisting councillors declared outside earnings he would have no problem.
But he warned that some potentially good councillors could be put off standing if they had to reveal their private salaries.
He added: "I certainly work for more than the average working week on council business as do most of my cabinet colleagues."
18 Comments
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by John Stuart Mill, The Centre
Wednesday, February 10 2010, 3:52PM
“Tony,
If all candidates were independents, then I suspect that Pelling would stand. As it is, we have a party system, so he'd have to pitch himself against two (or three if your count the LibDems, which I don't) party machines. These are well funded finely tuned campaign machines.
Electorally, I suspect that AP would be identified with the Tory Party, presumably splitting the right-of-centre vote. As we have a neanderthal voting system, this would allow another party (presumably Labour) to win on a small minority vote of about 40% of votes cast. If the turn out is about 50% (as it will be this time round), that means that Croydon Central will be represented by an MP with 20% support. As Homer (Simpson) said, "When will people learn? Democracy doesn't work."
If Pelling did stand and did so as an independent, I might even vote for him. I'm probably not alone in that. Whether he'd get in is, as I say above, quite another matter.”
by Tony, New Addington
Monday, February 08 2010, 5:41PM
“Andrew, whilst I welcome your reply I would question whether, considering you claim to be at Parliament seven days a week, often pass midnight and manage to claim £1000 per hour for outside consultancy, you are able to offer a full service to your constituents. I know if I worked the hours you claim to do my health would probably suffer as tiredness would undoubtedly set in. Your constant claim regarding career politicians only ever having been employed in the party machine, is clearly yet another veiled personal slight. Is it not time you were the 'honest' politician you purport to be and be honest with the electorate. Will you stand as an independant in the forthcoming General Election. Yes or No will suffice.”
by Andrew Pelling MP, House of Commons
Monday, February 08 2010, 12:38AM
“Thank you Alan of Forestdale. I do not claim a second home allowance and I am 625th out of 645 MPs at the bottom of the league table of MPs expenses.”
by Andrew Pelling MP, House of Commons
Monday, February 08 2010, 12:36AM
“I did not use the word 'earn' Michael.”
by Andrew Pelling MP, House of Commons
Monday, February 08 2010, 12:29AM
“Contrary Mike to your commentary my client relationship work at Tokai Tokyo Securities Europe Limited (TTSE) is entirely separate from Parliament and Croydon Council. It's nice to have 90 minutes a week doing something entirely different. There is no influence peddling in British politics as you imply as the activity at TTSE that provides for borrowing by international supras and foreign agencies to take up the savings Japanese retail investors is entirely unrelated to Parliament and Croydon Council. It does allow me to look at a Bloomberg machine - being old fashioned here we don't have Bloomberg terminals. It keeps me up to date on economic developments and this knowledge helped me argue against the steep cuts in public spending that the Tories proposed and have mercifully (probably) dropped. It's a good thing that David Cameron, in this case listened and had the strength of mind to change his stance.
What worries people about Councillors is that they receive a full time wage at the Council but they have other jobs as well that consume 100 % of their time 9 to 5 elsewhere 5 days a week. We don't know this for sure of course as the Councillors' outside work hours are not published unlike the transparent publication of outside hours and outside income here in Parliament.
May be £ 6 million is too much for part-time Councillors.
I do work seven days a week here in Parliament and will be here late tonight.
The sad thing here in Parliament is that very many MPs have only ever worked as a researcher or election campaign organiser for the political party they represent in Parliament and dare not disagree with that Party as they have been the only employer they have ever known since school. No wonder this place is so weak at holding government to account.
Also not published are the amounts of your public money that are paid to Councillors that are imposted from them for transfer to political parties' coffers. Is it right to take your money to give to the party political machines ?”