Had it not been for Peter Hain, then the big story would have been MPs' pay. And they deserve credit for the decision that they made. But their pay should be fixed by statute at the median wage in the public sector, which should in turn be fixed by statute at the median wage in the private sector.
And they should be made to earn it, both by requiring all EU legislation to pass through both Houses exactly as if it had originated in one or other of them, and by the United Kingdom Parliament's routine exercise of its right to enact legislation across all policy areas throughout the Kingdom, overriding that enacted by any devolved body. Parliament would therefore have to sit with decent frequency.
Furthermore, the additional pay to Ministers should come nowhere close to constituting second salaries over and above those that they are in any case receiving as MPs. At present, the difference in pay between a Cabinet Minister and the next rung down as a Minister of State is about forty thousand pounds. In other words, twice national median earnings for full-time work is what these people regard as a mere grading difference.
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