Month: May 2017

Pic of the week 14/5/17

Pic of the week has nothing to do with the post this week. A pic of the back garden, ‘cos its a nice pic, and will also provide a record for what leafs up when.

Channeling my inner-Paxman

So earlier this week a post from our MP, James Heappey popped up in my FB timeline. Basically he was criticising Tessa Munt (who he ousted in the last election and is standing against him again this year) for wanting two jobs (she has just been elected as Councillor and wants to also be our MP.)  Fair enough to criticise, but had he ever criticied those in his own party for holding down more than one job?  So I asked him:

Jeff Peabody Mr Heapey – could you point me in the direction of some evidence that you similarly called out George Osborne – a sitting MP – when he took on yet another role as Editor of the evening standard. Or Boris Johnson, who combined his Mayorship of London with being an MP? I look forward to your response (although I shan’t hold my breath – I once contacted you before, but you never bothered to respond. And you’ve only got one job. Perhaps that’s too much for you?)

James Heappey Jeff, we’ve no record of receiving any emails from you and I notice you spelt my name wrong in your post. Could you have got the wrong address? I was on James.heappey.mp@parliament.uk but you can now reach me on james@jamesheappey.org.uk. We have a record of absolutely everything we’ve received (and responded to). If you’re sure you got the address right, let me know, we’ll ask Parliament to check the server – they might be able to confirm what happened.

Jeff Peabody No, I replied directly to an email you sent me some years ago. Not too sure how you got my email address, but if you send me an (unsolicited) email, I would expect you to have the courtesy to reply. Leaving that aside, you now have the chance to answer the question I have today: You have castigated Ms Munt for (potentially) having a second job whilst an MP. Have you similarly castigated George Osborne & Boris Johnson who have also very publicly held other jobs whilst an MP?

James Heappey I don’t think Jeff’s question is unfair. As it happens, I think I might have condemned the number of jobs taken on by George Osborne in passing with a local radio station a few weeks ago. I think the bigger point though is that leaflets in 2010 criticised David H-A for having more than one job. Leaflets in 2015 boasted that she’d only had – and would always only have – one job. But now she wants two jobs and with those two jobs come some difficult choices because you can’t be in two places at once.

Jeff Peabody James Heappey Thank you for your reply. You stance would be strengthened if you could supply evidence (rather than a somewhat vague reference to possibly saying something in passing) Does she really want two jobs, or would she give up her new job if she got yours?! Who knows, but if you are criticising her for two jobs, then you must surely also critisice your colleagues who also have two jobs? And herein lies the problem for we, the voting masses: to us you all look like a duplicitous bunch of backstabbers who would sell your own mother for an extra vote (and, given her leaflet, I include Ms Munt in that collective group) At least you’ve taken the time to engage, and once again, thank you for that.

James Heappey Jeff Peabody I genuinely can’t remember which radio program I was talking to when I made my comment but I’m making exactly the criticism you seek now. That’s not to say that all MPs with outside interests are doing the wrong thing – some sit on advisory panels, others maintain a professional qualification in medicine, the law or accountancy, others serve in our reserve armed forces. They manage their time but they’d also tell you that they have to make compromises on both jobs and sometimes they have to prioritise one over the other. You cannot do both as successfully as you would if you only had one or the other. As for George Osborne – Great guy with lots of talent but he was taking the piss on the job front. He’s done the right thing to step down although I suspect he’ll be back!

There were some comments from others – both trolling and supporting my original question – but I think the conversation above needs recording. To be fair, at least he did engage with me, the great unwashed, but I still think it highly ironic and hypocritical for someone from the same party as George Osborne & Boris Johnson, to chastise another would-be MP for possibly having two jobs.  Plus, I suspect that Ms Munt put herself up for election for the council long before the General Election and would stand down from her Council committments if she can oust Mr Heappey from office.