Latest news with #PeterBottomley
BBC News
31-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Developer's appeal to build on Goring Gap is rejected
Campaigners are celebrating after winning their battle to prevent 475 homes from being built on one of the last greenfield sites in Worthing. Goring Gap is situated within two separate Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Wessex Downs and The Chilterns. The developer, Persimmon Homes, submitted a plan for its Chatsmore Farm project, but lost the appeal against Worthing Borough Council's (WBC) refusal to approve its proposal back in 2021.A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes said: "We are naturally disappointed with the decision of the planning inspector. "Our goal all along has been to help alleviate Worthing's exceptional housing need by building affordable homes for local people."Former Conservative MP for Worthing West, Sir Peter Bottomley, who has long fought to protect Goring Gap from development, told Radio Sussex that the "battle is not over", as big companies have "top barristers who can help them fight their cases"."The decision by the planning inspectorate is welcomed, but it should never gone to appeal in the first place," he added. Councillor Sophie Cox, leader of WBC, said it was "time for Persimmon to abandon its housing plans for Chatsmore Farm"."We have always been clear we would protect Chatsmore Farm from development and I'm delighted and relieved by the planning inspector's decision," she added."We recognise the pressing need for more new homes in Worthing, particularly affordable homes, but they must be in the right areas, not on green spaces like Chatsmore Farm."
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MPs deserve more than £94k a year
Our 650 Members of Parliament are on course for a pay rise in April, to just under £94,000 a year. Gosh – nearly six figures for waving some papers and asking an 'urgent question' about progress on a new A-road in Little Humpington. That's not to mention subsidised housing costs, a great pension and the cheap grub and booze available in the many bars of the House of Commons. I wish I could be angry, but actually, MPs are being chronically underpaid. The 2.8pc bump, recommended by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), kicks in at the same time as Rachel Reeves's National Insurance raid on employers, which will leave many in the private sector with little or no pay rise at all. And yet MPs remain the poor relations compared to their counterparts in foreign parliaments and the kinds of jobs they could walk into in the private sector. Many, including Labour MPs, scoffed when Sir Peter Bottomley, the former Conservative MP for West Worthing, said in an interview a few years ago that MPs should be paid the same as GPs, suggesting around £110,000 a year would be more appropriate. His unguarded comment that the financial situation was 'desperately difficult' and 'grim' for young politicians was seized upon by the opposition as an example of out-of-touch Tories. Last year, there was much hollow laughter when George Freeman, the MP for Mid Norfolk, said he had stood down as a minister because his mortgage had risen 'from £800 per month to £2,000 per month, which I simply couldn't afford to pay on a ministerial salary'. Many scoffed at the idea a salary of £118,300 wasn't enough, but Mr Freeman has a pre-politics background in science and technology and could earn far more in a second job than the extra money ministers are paid. He revealed he had gone through a 'very painful' divorce and had two elderly parents and three children – none of which came cheap. Instead of laughing at MPs who dare to say their salaries are a bit stingy, we should make drastic changes to their pay and benefits. It was following The Telegraph's legendary investigation into the expenses scandal that the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority was created. Prior to that, MPs had set their own pay and topped it up by abusing the less-than-vigorous expenses system to claim back the cost of pretty much anything, including the infamous £1,645 duck house at Sir Peter Viggers' home (which was claimed for but rejected). Now we should go further and raise MPs' salaries to bring them to a comparable level with other countries. For instance, in 2018, Australian politicians were paid around £100,000 a year while their British counterparts were paid just £77,300. Today, MPs should already be earning well in excess of £100,000. That symbolic barrier would not only convince the most capable to consider public service over the City of London (six figures is considered positively plebeian these days in the Square Mile), but would also force MPs to confront the absurdities of the tax system in which thousands pay 62p in the pound over that level. In return for providing a competitive salary, there should be an outright ban on second jobs. With proper pay, there can be no reason our MPs cannot devote themselves fully to serving their constituents, developing effective policy and holding the government to account. MPs, particularly those who claim to be serious about cutting the size of the state – I'm looking at you Nigel and Kemi – should also fall on their swords and campaign to cut back the generosity of their pension scheme. It is now a relic of a bygone age. IPSA is reviewing the mechanism it is using to set MPs' pay going forward. It is time to pay our MPs a full-time wage for a full-time job. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
