Parliamentary Beer Subsidies

We are doing away with 1000 years of tradition, so say some MP’s after the decision to do away storing state documents on vellum. They are complaining that the Lords have decided that they should do this to save about £80,000 a year. They are saying things like if it wasn’t for vellum we wouldn’t have a copy of the Magna Carta. True, but then again we didn’t have computers then so we couldn’t store the data on this or we didn’t have special archival paper to store thing on. Officials say that this paper will last 500 years but MP’s say it will only last 200 years. Does this really matter? To me there isn’t a lot of difference between 200 years or 500. I won’t see either of them as I will last considerable less than this. But in this digital age we all store things digitally now, except my dad. He was happily computer phobic yet was perfectly happy with a typewriter but I doubt anything he typed will last 200 or 500 years.

However, let’s consider some other things that MP’s could bring back as they appeared to be traditional.

Flogging
Hanging
Transportation to Australia for many crimes
Slavery
Military might
Not having doctors or hospitals
No welfare state
No sick pay
No maternity leave
Women not working (except during time of war)
Child labour
No education for the masses
Dying of simple illnesses
No anaesthetic
Using shillings
Rickets
Polio

These are just some of the things that traditionally used to happen which we could bring back. I don’t really mean I want to see us go back to this but this is how it used to be and we move on – usually for the better but not always. I think traditionally MP’s didn’t used to get paid. We could go back to that one. A lot of us would agree with this idea as we all think they are overpaid.

We have moved on into a digital age and most of us store things electronically now so what’s wrong with doing it this way rather than using the skin of a dead animal to write on. Incidentally we could go back to using feather quills to write with like they did traditionally when the Magna Carta was written.

And inkwells. My dad remembered those.

I think if Parliament is looking to save money one of the easiest ways would be to do away with all the subsidies they get in the bars and restaurants in Parliament. I think this would save about 6 or 7 million pounds and that was in 2014. With the price of wine and beer going as it is it would be much higher now. Why do MP’s get subsidised food and drink in the first place. They all earn over £70,000 a year so it is not as if they cannot afford to pay for it. Why don’t normal people get the same state subsidies? What is wrong with making school teachers meals subsidised or nurses or other people doing real jobs. The reason that politicians get these fantastic subsidies and pay rises is that they get to vote for it themselves. If this is such an important principle, voting for your own pay rises and expenses,  please give nurses the right to set their own pay rises and people in other jobs as well. Wouldn’t happen would it, so why are MP’s exempt from reality?

One final thing that puzzles me is how do they know that archival paper will last 500 years? Has some been stored for that long to check?