Your occasional reminder of who would be a politician?

I am sure SDLP MLA Cara Hunter is delighted to be on the front page of today’s Irish News.

£300 an hour does seem to be quite the earner, alright, except when you read into the details of the article, it turns out she is only working for them for 14 hours a year. An AI company paying MLA £4200 does not have the same attention-grabbing ring to it. I think the headline is a bit unfair to Cara Hunter, she has been the victim of deepfakes in the past and her work with the AI company is legit and she has been upfront about the work. But also, as the guy who writes most of the Slugger headlines, I can see why they went with the £300 an hour one.

Meanwhile, the BelTel reports that Steve Baker, the former NIO minister says that potential employers are put off hiring him due to his past in politics. From the article:

Mr Baker called on the Conservative Party to offer employment to ex-MPs in order to ease the transition of former politicians back into civilian life.

The ex-minister criticised the current redundancy entitlement of four-months pay that ex-MPs receive as “nowhere near large enough.”

“If we want MPs to exercise leadership, there has to be some kind of safety net that you fall into if you lose your seat,” he said.

He is calling for redundancy pay of one year’s salary in order “to get us over the horrible process of actually getting a job when you’re well-known.”

Now, as one of the backers of Brexit, the reaction of many of us might be Simpsons Nelson Muntz style HA HA!, but you can see his point of why would people go into politics if it ruins their career prospects?

Mind you, you could argue that many politicians lack real-world skills or abilities and have only achieved their positions due to nepotism or connections. Those with actual talent should have no issues finding work. The well-worn route of university, then ‘adviser’, then MP mean that many politicians have never had a real job outside of politics.

The Beltel also reports that former DUP MP Ian Paisley has started a management consultancy business. I am sure you all wish him well on his future endeavours.

Back to the Irish News frontpage, and ex-MP Michelle Gildernew is in a forgiving philosophical mood, saying she is embracing a new chapter in her life and bears no ill will to Sinn Féin after being let go by the party she served for three decades. From the article:

The 55-year-old grandmother, who served as an abstentionist Westminster representative for more than 20 years and was among the first batch of MLAs elected to the assembly in 1998, has hinted at a role in the media but is also open job offers from the agrifood sector where the farmer’s daughter believes she could apply the skills honed during her four-year tenure as Stormont agriculture minister.

Ms Gildernew has also spoken about the challenges of caring for her husband Jimmy, who having suffered a stroke two years ago, at the age of 52, had to learn to walk again and still cannot communicate verbally.

I know there is no shortage of people who don’t like her party, but Michelle came across as a decent person. That’s pretty rough for her husband. I wish them both well for the future.

Brian O'Neill

Managing Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.