Resigning ministers could get huge payouts in severance money

House of Commons debate


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Correction: This article was updated on 3 August 2022. The original article quoted figures from the Liberal Democrats that resignation pay-offs would be worth £420,000. Following a challenge by Full Fact, the Liberal Democrats revised the figure to £245,000. This article has been corrected accordingly.

Resigning ministers will be in line for massive payouts as part of a parliamentary severance scheme, according to reports. Figures from the Liberal Democrats show that up to £245,000 in public money will be paid out. This week saw tens of ministers resign in a successful bid to force Boris Johnson out of office.

The Times wrote:

Those leaving the government payroll are entitled to a quarter of their annual ministerial salary.

Shockingly, this may mean a minister who served for less than two days gets a hefty severance payment:

This includes Michelle Donelan, who was education secretary for less than 36 hours. Despite appearing to be the shortest-serving secretary of state in history, taking a record that has stood for more than two centuries, she is entitled to nearly £17,000.

In fact, Johnson can claim the special ex-PM allowance of £115k annually. And this would only be reviewed if he took up another public appointment.

Read on...

Sceptical

General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union, Dave Ward, said:

Needless to say a Boris-fatigued public were not overjoyed:

And in the Commons, Labour’s Rupa Huq asked if the ministers in question would accept the cash or choose not to reward failure:

Given many of those who resigned may be returned to their posts after Johnson has gone, some asked whether they would still get the bonuses:

The Flat

And, new details of the infamous Downing Street flat conversion have emerged. A leaked copy of the invoice showed some shocking costs.

Activist Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu pointed out that there’s no cost of living crisis for the Johnsons:

Questions are also being raised about whether Boris – who plans to stay on as PM for several months – will have a wedding party at Chequers:

Chequers is a lavish rural manor in Buckinghamshire and serves as the official country residence of the PM. It cost up to £1m a year and has a heated swimming pool, according to The Mirror, which reported Friday that: 

Two separate sources told the Mirror that Mr and Mrs Johnson were keen to go ahead with the party, to which they have invited many of their family and friends.

The BBC reported that after “criticism” the wedding party will be held elsewhere.

Cost-of-living crisis

While the country deals with inflation and a cost-of-living crisis, we should recall none of the Tory ministers in question are going to go hungry. Yet, much of the media has concerned itself with court gossip about weddings and coups.

For those who aren’t highly paid politicians, the current crises have tough implications. And that makes the idea of fat severance packages for the people who caused these implications even more grotesque.

Featured image via Wikimedia Commons/House of Commons/Jessica Taylor/Stephen Pike cropped to 770 x 403, licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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