9 mo. ago • 98%

Minister quit ‘because he could not afford rising mortgage costs’ on £120,000 salary

www.theguardian.com Minister quit ‘because he could not afford rising mortgage costs’ on £120,000 salary

George Freeman, who left government role in November, said payments were now £2,000, up by £1,200

19 comments

I wonder how he thinks his constituents manage, and how easy it would be for them to just quit and find a job paying over £120,000..

Oh, who am I kidding, he's probably never thought about them beyond how they could get him elected in the first place..

33
There's more to the story than the headline. Separation costs from his wife (a lawyer), plus child maintenance, plus burnout from lots of different roles. It's not just the mortgage payments.

If I understand high salary taxation correctly, there are no tax bands above £100K and you just pay 40% on the lot, which makes his take-home net £6K/month, of which a £2K mortgage is one third. I'm managing OK with my mortgage being one third of my net takehome. But I don't have an angry lawyer ex-wife and child maintenance to pay, or a stressful job.

Maybe mortgage increases were the last straw for him. But they are not the only reason for him quitting.

18
- Actually the 100-120k bracket is effectively a 60% tax band as you lose your tax free allowance, then 45% on incomes over 125k. Compared to other members of that government that mostly earn through investments taxed at 20% (capital gains tax) he is doing a lot worse.
  
  4
Clearly someone needs to set up a go fund me for him. Not.

12
- Wow, is it 1991 again?
  
  10
  
  ~~Wow, is it 1991 again?~~ Wow, it's 1991 again -- not!
  
  FTFY. 😜
  
  4
  
  Party on, Wayne.
  
  2
that divine call to proselytize ... until you cant afford it anymore. thats what jesus did

e. not correct minister. am idiot

12
- I mean you're right haha, but while I hate to be that guy, this is from Britain, where ministers are members of government, not the church.
  
  14
  
  and he resigned months ago.
  
  there was an ex, two kids, and their education being paid for out of that salary, too.
  
  must be a slow news day or sumthin.
  
  6
- Governmental Minister, not a religious one.
  
  8
  
  oh damn, i was way off! sorry!
  
  2
- I made the same mistake a few months ago. There was some emergency and a minister called for the closure of a whole region or somesuch and I had the same response. "What the fuck, Canadian pastors have way too much power. I thought it was bad in America."
  
  4
Who the hell wrote this? Emphasis mine.

After leaving government, which he described as a “cruel mistress”, Freeman wrote in his blog that he now had the “greatest freedom of all – to speak and write and talk openly about what I’ve learnt”.

On top of his MP’s salary of £86,584, he is now also free to take on lucrative second jobs, subject to the approval of the anti-corruption watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

So which is it?

He hasn't left government, so he can still draw his salary. Another job would be a second job.

He has left government, and inexplicably is still getting his salary despite being unemployed. Another job would be his first job.

He has left government and isn't getting his salary. Another job would be his first job.

Which is it? I want to know exactly which lies I'm being told.
9
- He has left his post of Minister. He still is a Member of Parliament (MP). So now that he has less responsibilities, he can find another job to get more money, subject to approval.
  
  I'm not sure why being MP of the ruling party isn't considered being part of the government. It might be a UK thing?
  
  11
  
  Ministers, also known as front benchers, are MPs which hold a portfolio in addition to representing constituents. You might have a minister for defence, a minister for education, a treasurer, etc. that minister is then the one responsible for working directly with the relevant department (e.g. department of education).
  
  Edit: oops, just realised you understand this, and this should've been a reply to the parent comment. Oh well.
  
  1
I wonder how he thinks his constituents manage, and how easy it would be for them to just quit and find a job paying over £120,000..

Oh, who am I kidding, he's probably never thought about them beyond how they could get him elected in the first place..

1
To the people pissed off, do you want him to just go into foreclosure? Pick up and move to keep the job?

-4
- He should buy less avocado toast and fewer fancy iPhones, just like the advice given to people making literally a quarter of his income.
  
  7

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