An MLC who said he would ‘happily volunteer’ his wage will be instead be using it to fund a personal assistant.
In Gary Clueit MLC’s proposal papers he said he had “no need nor interest in renumeration” and “would happily volunteer” his services.
Mr Clueit told Manx.News that “one cannot refuse to accept payment” as a Member of the Legislative Council.
He says it is “for good reason – it would set a bad precedent if it were considered a criterion for election by disadvantaging those who are not financially independent”.
MLC Wage
Mr Clueit says he is instead looking to hire either a research or personal assistant with the money.
He hopes that the hiring of an assistant would help him become more productive and to gather information from “external sources that are beyond the scope of the excellent parliamentary researchers”.
The MLC says it “could also provide an opportunity for someone who might wish to enter politics themselves in the future”.
The basic salary for a Member of the Legislative Council is £71,659 per annum.
Gary Clueit’s proposal papers can be found here.
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