Nadhim Zahawi was sacked today, another one bites the dust. Yet another Member of Parliament falls from grace due to finances.
2005, Labour was discovered to have received vast amounts in anonymous donations
2007, under Blair, we had 'cash for honours'
2009 and 2010 saw two 'cash for influence' scandals. For the first time, since Cromwell in 1640, Members of The House of Lords were suspended...
...and it continued.
2009, we all remember the duck house. We all remember the mortgages claimed by MPs living in London.
2012, Cash for Access - Conservatives
2020 onwards has seen controversy around PPE contracts
We've had plenty of financial scandals and now we arrive at Zahawi.
The Zahawi one stings. I wanted him as PM during the leadership elections. I admired how he was self-made, level headed, and I liked his vision for the Conservative Party and the country. It seems I misread the man. I made a mistake.
Radical Transparency
When I was elected, I made a promise to publish every payslip I receive from Havering Council.
I did so inspired by the government of Taiwan. Specifically Audrey Tang. Tang livestreams every speaking even they are at. The Taiwan government makes vast amounts of data publicly available. They believe in Digital Democracy, the idea that technology should make things more transparent, not less.
It is so very easy for me to record and publish my speeches and my payslips. Thanks to the wonders of technology. So, it only makes sense that I do so.
Read over the list of the scandals above. They are just the ones I can recall. Can you honestly read that list and tell me that we don't need more transparency?
This is why I publish my payslips, in full.
My Pay
Want to know my taxcode? BR. It means none of my income, from being a Councillor, is tax free.
This is because I have used all my allowance in my day-job. Everyone gets £12,570 before they pay tax. I earn more than that in my day job.
Now you know I have two jobs, now you know I am paying income tax. I paid £173.60 in income tax from my Councillor salary.
I was paid £867.67 for the month of January. I took home £694.07.
Imagine...
Now imagine every politician did the same.
I started a little petition, asking that all politician's publish their pay.
Click below to sign it.
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