UK Politics!

[EvoUK]

Interesting. I appreciate your responses.

Do the Lords get paid? In Texas, there are political positions that pay very little during their time of service, but they have retirement plans that are outrageous. A Texas Senator makes $600 a month, but if he/she completes one term, can retire on a pension of $125,000 a year (based on the current pay of a state district judge, whose salary is set by the legislature)

Most are independently wealthy. For example, in 2004-2015 out of 303 nominations for peerages, 211 were former senior political figures, and 27 of the remaining had just happened to have made significant donations to the various political parties.

As part of their role, they receive an attendance allowance of £305 per day plus travel expenses. I am not aware of them receiving a payout, as they have to be life peers in order to be appointed in the first place. They can now be removed for being naughty (since 2014).

Many do naturally receive various payments through work done outside of the Lord's, however, and they receive pensions from other bodies (such as an EU pension for former MEPs).

[Christianbookworm]

Are all politicians around the world stinking rich?

[Tassman]

My opinion on the House of Lords is split. I am against them as they're an unelected body, yet since 2016 they've been the only voice of reason in parliament, especially with regards to the fairly recent Brexit Bills.

Being un-elected they not have to play the political game, i.e. kowtow to party factions etc etc and are thus they're more likely to be independent in their thinking...they can judge issues purely on their merits. This is the chief benefit of the House of Lords. It might seem undemocratic but it's a system that works well.

[Starlight]

Are all politicians around the world stinking rich?

Standard UK politicians are paid ~2x the median wage plus some perks and expenses. Standard politicians here in NZ get a salary that's ~4x median wage plus some perks. Those salaries rise a bit once the person gets higher into political leadership. That's getting up there I guess, but I wouldn't classify it as "stinking rich" - it's not the ~271x the median wage that US CEOs get on average, which definitely counts as stinking rich.

2) How bout summing up each party.

Political compass positioning of the parties:


My own general understanding of the major parties, probably in need of some correction in the particulars by British posters here. Percentages are from latest opinion polls (note though that because the UK has plurality-voting system, parties such as UKIP have got over 10% of the vote in the past while winning hardly any seats).

Conservative ("Tories") (39%) - The major conservative/right-wing party, currently in government. Has generally favored cuts to government services, and lowering of taxes. Though "conservative" they are not as conservative as US conservatives, and same-sex marriage passed parliament under their leadership with ~40% of their MPs voting for it. They are currently a hot mess over the Brexit negotiations.

Labour (40%) - The major left-wing/liberal/progressive party. The party abandoned its historic left-wing views under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and swung to the right in a period known as "New Labour" similar to Bill Clinton's "Triangulation" move of the US Dems to the right. However Jeremy Corbyn has pretty thoroughly taken over the party now and dislodged all the Blairites and taken the party back to its historic left-wing views.

Lib Dems (10%) - A splinter party of Labour. Had a pretty bad outcome in the last election. I am not clear on what the policy / philosophical differences between them and Labour are, though I see political compass charts them as pretty centrist.

UK Independence Party (UKIP) (6%) - An anti-globalization anti-immigration right-wing populist nationalist party. Pushed successfully for the Brexit vote. Gets accused of being "far right".

Scottish National Party (SNP) (4% nationally; 42% within Scotland) - Scotland is much more left-wing/liberal than England, and has waxing and waning desires for independence. The SNP is a left-wing nationalistic party. The electorates in Scotland tend to oscillate their vote between Labour and the SNP depending on how nationalistic they are feeling in any given year. After the referendum decision for Scotland to remain a part of the UK, the SNP party is currently at a bit of a loose end.

Greens (3%) - A left-wing/liberal/progressive party strong on environmental concerns similar to US Green party.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) (36% within N.Ireland) - The most popular party in Northern Ireland, very right-wing & very very conservative. Currently in a loose governing coalition with the Conservatives.

[37818]

Standard UK politicians are paid ~2x the median wage plus some perks and expenses. Standard politicians here in NZ get a salary that's ~4x median wage plus some perks. Those salaries rise a bit once the person gets higher into political leadership. That's getting up there I guess, but I wouldn't classify it as "stinking rich" - it's not the ~271x the median wage that US CEOs get on average, which definitely counts as stinking rich.


Political compass positioning of the parties:


My own general understanding of the major parties, probably in need of some correction in the particulars by British posters here. Percentages are from latest opinion polls (note though that because the UK has plurality-voting system, parties such as UKIP have got over 10% of the vote in the past while winning hardly any seats).

Conservative ("Tories") (39%) - The major conservative/right-wing party, currently in government. Has generally favored cuts to government services, and lowering of taxes. Though "conservative" they are not as conservative as US conservatives, and same-sex marriage passed parliament under their leadership with ~40% of their MPs voting for it. They are currently a hot mess over the Brexit negotiations.

Labour (40%) - The major left-wing/liberal/progressive party. The party abandoned its historic left-wing views under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and swung to the right in a period known as "New Labour" similar to Bill Clinton's "Triangulation" move of the US Dems to the right. However Jeremy Corbyn has pretty thoroughly taken over the party now and dislodged all the Blairites and taken the party back to its historic left-wing views.

Lib Dems (10%) - A splinter party of Labour. Had a pretty bad outcome in the last election. I am not clear on what the policy / philosophical differences between them and Labour are, though I see political compass charts them as pretty centrist.

UK Independence Party (UKIP) (6%) - An anti-globalization anti-immigration right-wing populist nationalist party. Pushed successfully for the Brexit vote. Gets accused of being "far right".

Scottish National Party (SNP) (4% nationally; 42% within Scotland) - Scotland is much more left-wing/liberal than England, and has waxing and waning desires for independence. The SNP is a left-wing nationalistic party. The electorates in Scotland tend to oscillate their vote between Labour and the SNP depending on how nationalistic they are feeling in any given year. After the referendum decision for Scotland to remain a part of the UK, the SNP party is currently at a bit of a loose end.

Greens (3%) - A left-wing/liberal/progressive party strong on environmental concerns similar to US Green party.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) (36% within N.Ireland) - The most popular party in Northern Ireland, very right-wing & very very conservative. Currently in a loose governing coalition with the Conservatives.

Left and Right is meaningless without specifications. Left, more government control; Right, less government control; would make some sense of it, if that was what it was.