A senior Tory MP has admitted resigning from Government as a result of he could not afford a hike in his mortgage funds on a ministerial wage.
Former Science Minister George Freeman made the admission in a weblog put up as tens of hundreds of Brits face a hike of their month-to-month funds. Mr Freeman, who give up the Government in November 2023, mentioned on the time it was clear “that the time has come for me to focus on my health, family wellbeing and life beyond the frontbench”.
In a weblog put up on January 26, reported by Politics Home, Mr Freeman additionally mentioned he was “exhausted” and “depressed” after serving in 5 ministerial roles underneath 4 Prime Ministers. He wrote: “I was so exhausted, bust and depressed that I was starting to lose the irrepressible spirit of optimism, endeavour, teamwork & progress which are the fundamentals of human achievement.”
Mr Freeman, who has been MP for Mid Norfolk since 2010, added: “And because my mortgage rises this month from £800pcm to £2000, which I simply couldn’t afford to pay on a Ministerial Salary. That’s political economy 2.0.
“We’re in peril of creating politics one thing solely hedge fund donors, younger spin medical doctors and failed commerce unionists can afford to do. Government is a merciless mistress. Modern politics is a savage playground.”
Last year MPs’ pay stood at £86,584 with Ministers of State also earning an extra £31,860 – bringing Mr Freeman’s total salary while in Government to around £118,444. It was not clear whether Mr Freeman intends to take on extra work outside his role as an MP now that he is no longer serving in Government.
But he said in the blog post he now has more time “to suppose, learn, speak to good individuals who’ve been sort sufficient to assist me and try to work out how I can finest assist the science, tech, and innovation mission I’ve now spent 30 years on”. He added: “Off the Government Front Bench I’ve the best freedom of all – to talk and write and speak brazenly about what I’ve learnt and what we have to do if we actually need to flip this nation’s financial system – and international and geopolitical function and confidence in ourselves – round.”
His remarks come as around 1.6million homeowners are due to come off fixed-rate deals this year and face considerable hikes in their monthly payments. Next week the Bank of England will decide whether to keep the base rate at 5.25% – the highest level in 15 years.
Just last week, the former Tory minister, who said he will stand for re-election this year, also predicted a Labour victory on the common election in an interview with the New Statesman. He informed the journal: “It seems very like that we will have a Labour authorities”.