Sarah Teather is advertising for a ‘Head of Office/Senior Researcher’ in Westminster with a starting salary between £17,000-£21,000.
Parliamentary payscales suggest that an ‘Officer Manager’ based in London should start on £27,034 and a ‘Senior Research/Parliamentary Assistant’ should start on £30,639. Even a plain ‘Research/Parliamentary Assistant’ in London should start on a minimum of £18,022!
So, starting on as little as £17,000 to be a ‘Head of Office/Senior Researcher’ in Westminster for an MP with a serious portfolio to manage? It’s a disgrace.
It must be said that whilst the Lib Dems aren’t alone in underpaying their staff, the general consensus amongst researchers is that they pay notably less on average than Labour or Tory MPs. Cynics like myself suggest that it’s so that they can employ more staff to boost the ranks of the Lib Dem bye-election campaign machine.
redtamarin[at]gmail.com
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I think it would be fair to say that Mr Clarke is a regular...
cheep party.= Cheep pay.
Howler Monkey said this on May 24th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
You only get what you pay for, so they will hardly get the best candidates for the job.
Political Teenager said this on May 24th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
True.
I would say under normal circumstances.” If you pay peanuts you get monkeys.” I feel that this maybe somewhat ironic.
Even in my days as a parliamentary assistant I was on more than 17Kpa..
So as to running an office as senior research/ parliamentary assistant with the duties commensurate to the position, and if I was a Liberal-Democrat looking for a job and I certainly would give this a mess..As this is cheapskateing of the first order.
Howler Monkey said this on May 24th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
ironically, I reckon LD staff probably work harder too
PBSthesecond said this on May 24th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
Come on, nobody gets paid anywhere near the parliamentary payscales. Realistically, £17-21k is not bad.
dynamite said this on May 24th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
Actually, quite a lot of Labour MPs do take these pay scales seriously.
Proletarian Vanguard said this on May 24th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
If you’re also paying constituency staff a living wage and remunerating interns it’s clearly not easy to meet the scales, and the benefits of working for an MP (the stakeholder pension is a ridiculously good package even before the 10% contributions) do sort of make up for the average-ness of the salaries.
dynamite said this on May 24th, 2006 at 4:01 pm
pay peanuts get gerbils
Barry Beef said this on May 24th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
pay gerbils, get sarah teather
evil eye said this on May 24th, 2006 at 5:23 pm
Pay Gerbiles??? Dose Gordo Know about this??…I’le have a chat with No 2 Lord of Tres. about this.
Howler Monkey said this on May 24th, 2006 at 8:22 pm
We used to have 2 in constit. office.2 in HOC office + Trainee and inturns…this worked OK.
Howler Monkey said this on May 25th, 2006 at 7:15 am
A researcher for a backbench Labour MP is grossly overpaid if that is the case - most of the MPs themselves are voting fodder proping up a discreited Governemnt and either past it has beens or never beens. In what way has one of these gofer’s ever actually raised their MPs profile? Examples on a postcard please. Lib Dem staff punch far above their weight and the Tories channel most of their research from Central Office meaning most Tory staff are essentially just PAs and if you have been a properly qualified PA you can command quite a high salary.
Louis Cyphere said this on May 25th, 2006 at 9:48 am
I wouldn’t deny the fact that very few people get paid anywhere near the top end of the Parliamentary payscales, but as a senior Lib Dem advertising specifically for a ‘Senior Researcher’, Sarah Teather should really be offering more.
Either that, or she should change the job spec to plain Research Assistant.
Red Tamarin said this on May 25th, 2006 at 9:54 am
Libdem staff are often paid less because they have to spread their allowances further in order to employ more staff. this is because they don’t have safe seats that they never need to work, unlike the other two parties. The staff are pretty good, too; at least they can spell words like ‘cheap’. She employs two caseworkers and two interns just to deal with casework - she’s known as being helpful to her constituents, and Brent needs all the help it can get. Unlike some Tory London MPs, she doesn’t refuse to do immigration casework, either (i read about one Tory MP who said ‘why bother, they don’t vote’…how humane). Sarah Teather maintains an office in her constituency into which constituents can pop anytime, so she has to pay rent on that, too. Neither of the other two Brent (Labour) MPs even have an office in their constituency, rather using their parliamnetary offices for the purpose (not something that the House authorities really like, so they’re not so serious about following those guidelines, it would seem). If the LDs got subbed by the trade unions or really well-funded central party machines, they could pay their staff more, too. Like much of politics at all levels, it’s a labour of love. Let’s face it, who does it for the money?
it’s also sad that some folk here have resorted to cheap name calling. oops, sorry, well-paid name calling.
uptight but honest said this on May 25th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Whilst MPs in safe seats obviously do need less staff (and can thus pay more), being in a marginal seat is no excuse to pay such a pittance.
Sarah Teather employing two caseworkers in her constituency is hardly going above and beyond the average MP. If that’s two caseworkers plus one senior researcher, that’s only three salaries to pay, with expenses or minimal contributions to interns on top of that - hardly stretching her staff budget!
Office space is irrelevant too, because the staff budget is separate from that for accomodation and other expenses.
I don’t know any Labour researchers who have their wages subsidised by trade unions with no strings attached (ie. extra work on their behalf) so that’s not an issue either in my eyes.
Red Tamarin said this on May 25th, 2006 at 3:58 pm
do LibDems need more staff because they are more stupid?
it kinda fits
Manchester's Finest said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
I know of at least one Labour MP who gets free staff from a trade union. Tangentially, I have also been reliably informed of a Labour MP who claims for a member of staff that doesn’t exist (that’s you, Abbott)…but sadly have no proof to back that up. Sarah Teather also employs other staff besides th eones i mentioned in her office, as well as paying intern expenses. I mentioend th enumber of caseworkers to make a point about how hard-working LD MPs generally are. Check out the published costs of MPs: she, like most LDs, claims up to the limit of their staff budgets. The money sure doesn’t get spent on hairdressers! Although i doubt things will ever get so desperate or tacky that they’d auction off a signed copy of the Hutton report….
uptight but honest said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
“…at least they can spell words like ‘cheap’.” (uptight but honest)
An uncalled-for attack on a dyslexic. But I guess you weren’t to know.
Nice to see the LibDems working so hard in Brent. Though I seriously hope those big ugly fluorescent orange signs, announcing “Liberal Democrats Winning Here”, have been removed.
I take it you are Sarah Teather?
Confused Cucumber said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
wow, that’s a really funny comment, ‘Manchester’s Finest’. so clever and witty, you’ve proved your worth and superior intelligence with one sentence. Cunt.
uptight but honest said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:21 pm
def not her - doubt she’d use that word…!
uptight but honest said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
The reason you can’t prove your allegation is that staff are paid directly by the fees office and not from some big suitcase full of cash given to the MP at the beginning of the financial year! Your comments are innaccurate and “urban myth” material.
The Silver Arrow said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
i was told about it by a member of her staff who has now left but who saw the paperwork.
uptight but honest said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
My wife tells me I’m handsome, but it doesn’t it’s true! Staff salaries are paid directly into the staff members’ bank accounts. Unless you are also alleging she has committed banking fraud by setting up a false bank account, it can’t happen.
The Silver Arrow said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
Crap - “doesn’t mean it’s true!”
The Silver Arrow said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
BTW - “def not her - doubt she’d use that word…!” isn’t this the same Sarah Teather that pulled faces during one of her first debates?!
The Silver Arrow said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
i’m only repeating what i was told by a perfectly sane person with no sour grapes, axe to grind or point to prove. It may not be true, but i doubt they’d lie. perhaps it was a mistake, perhaps not. Goodness knows it’s not as if Abbott doesn’t spread muck about like a Glastonbury toilet truck pump in reverse gear.
BTW Silver Arrow, it’s a long step from a face to the ‘c’ word. I’m sure the woman has better things to do than this. I wish i did.
uptight but honest said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
To Confused Cucumber Cheers mate! Howler Hthe Dis.
Howler Monkey said this on May 25th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
No problem Howler.
Just wish the LibDems would use more reliable criteria than spelling ability when judging the worth of their staff. Incidentally, I did find some spelling mistakes in uptight’s posts. Perhaps that is the reason they are underpaid.
Confused Cucumber said this on May 25th, 2006 at 6:09 pm
OK .. I’m drunk at the moment so I’ll catch you later. Cheers mate. H.M.
Howler Monkey said this on May 25th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
ah, but cucumber, those mistakes were typos caused by me getting too excitied writing posts and typing quickly! howler’s looked like a genuine inability to spell and, combined with their mildly offensive nature, only served, ironically, to show who was actually cheap. i do know how to spal, honesst.
uptight but honest said this on May 26th, 2006 at 10:23 am
He has dyslexia. So did Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and other famous intelligent people. I doubt that the condition affects Howler’s competence at being a politician, since it is caused by “the successful use of visual thinking skills at an early age”. http://www.dyslexia.com/bookstore/giftbook.htm
Confused Cucumber said this on May 26th, 2006 at 1:19 pm
That not my type of dyslexia. I’m a left right Classic.For eneything over 3/4 lines I use Voice to text (Via voice) for witch I need total quiet or I’m stuffed.
Howler Monkey said this on May 26th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Uptight but honest, good too see you reply in kind. but you are right, i am a cunt.
but you are wrong about LDs they are a joke. thats why everyone laughs at them.
maybe ill see you around
Manchester's Finest said this on May 26th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
Einstein used a profesinal mathamatition for the 1905 relativity work, as he could “see” it in his head but not do the math.
Howler Monkey said this on May 26th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
sorry for any offence caused, howler. obviously i didn’t know you were a dyslexic. you have my sympathy on having such a hard word to spell when writing about your condition. it’s rather like putting the letter ’s’ in ‘lisp’.
the thing is, the LDs genuinely have the best polciies of all 3 parties, IMHO. that’s why i for one support them. better the liberal, environmental, democratic internationalism of the LDs than the petty greed and nationalism of the Tories or the centralising, authoritarian Daily Mail-chasing New Labour party. I don’t laugh at the two bgger parties - i’m too worried they actually mean what they say to find it funny.
uptight but honest said this on May 26th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Deals of the day –…
India’s Tata Motors is set to be named as the preferred buyer for Ford Motor’s luxury brands Jaguar and Land…
land rover naples florida said this on February 1st, 2008 at 5:52 pm