John Prescott’s office is being given an additional £587,000 to assist him in his ‘duties’. What duties, may I ask. Ever since Prescott was stripped of his ministerial duties last May, he has been struggling to find relevance in one way or the other. The stark truth however remains that Prescott occupies an office without a job.
This bonus payment brings the total annual budget for Mr Prescott’s office to £2,547,000. Needless to say, the Conservatives have attacked the 30 per cent increase.
Leaving aside the fact that this is public money being so wasted, I wonder how much of this ‘excessive bonus’ Mr Prescott will be giving to disadvantaged communities. Perhaps Peter Hain might like to have a word?
February 20th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Personally, I believe that almost £2m per year is worth it to ensure that Prescott is not allowed near any real Government work. It’s small change compared to the real damage he could do if given a proper portfolio.
I wasn’t always this cynical.
February 20th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Well said Bel, voters should take a long, hard look at the ease with which they demonstrate one rule for their pary and another rule for everyone else.
February 20th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
I couldn’t believe it when I heard this on Sky earlier, Bel. My first reaction was, “What department?”
February 21st, 2007 at 3:49 am
This speaks more for the apathy and the stupidity of our electorate than for the ability of our government to waste a couple of million pounds.
Many voters today are either too stupid to react to this latest Prescott scandal, or couldn’t give a toss because labour gives them handouts or pays their wages.
If only some of these voters were capable of considering the future prospects of the nation, or the life chances of their grandchildren, then maybe we might see them holding their masters to account today, but fat chance, foresight and wisdom are not as common as they used to be.
February 21st, 2007 at 9:23 pm
As one MP said at the time, it is better to pay Prescott to do nothing, than pay him to do something.
It a bit like those set aside payments farmers get from the EU.
Of course Precott has a function. He reminds everyone else of the dangers of letting Tony leave us for too long- he leaves Thumper in charge. Obviously that has us all crying ‘Come home Tony, we can’t cope without you’.
Or maybe that’s starting to wear off.
Another great thing about Prescott is how much sense he talks. His statements show such beautiful command of the English language. The world record holder for sentences in excess of a hundred words. It also has the happy advantage of giving us all the satisfaction of spending an hour or so working out what he means.
And his skills in conflict resolution are in a special category.
Worth every penny, surely?