Money and politics

I have been invited on BBC Northern Ireland’s Politics Show tomorrow to disucss politicians salaries and expenses. Over the past couple of weeks the issue has never been far from the top of the news agenda here. There have been reports about a possible 16% pay increase for our local MLAs and questions about whether they are worth it. The story of Ian Paisley Junior’s three salaries from the public purse continues and following the Conway affair in England there is a debate about whether family members should be employed by public representatives.

The bloggers have been considering the issues also. Henry McDonald on the Guardian Blog, Slugger,  A Tangled Web and Splintered Sunrise have all had something to say. What is interesting is that they and indeed the public seem more interested in the double or triple jobbing than the pay.

The Newsletterleads today with yet another Ian Jnr story, this time about the £62k he has claimed to pay rent for the DUP’s Ballymena offices. A good piece of journalism by Stephen Dempster and Sam MacBride which is likely to raise a further question or two.