Guess the price of democracy?
Well thanks to David Amess, we now know the cost of an MP- a massive £500,000…that’s including the administration and running costs of the old dusty Houses of Commons (that’s right these figures don’t even include the House of Lords).
mr Amess: To ask the Leader of the House what the cost was per hon. Member in (a) 2004-05 and (b) each of the previous four years; and if he will make a statement. [70410]
Mr. Straw: I have taken this question to be referring to the total costs of the House of Commons per hon. Member.
Direct costs of the House of Commons are the sum of the Estimates for House of Commons: Administration and House of Commons: Members, though a range of the costs within the Administration Estimate do not relate solely to Members.
Financial year
Total cost(1) (£ million)
Total per Member (659)
(1) In accordance with the principles on which the accounts are prepared, the information is in resource rather than cash terms.
It often seems that the British parliament is redundent these days, with more and more decisions being taken at the local, international and prime ministerial level. Seems a shame to be wasting so much money!!