Ministers’ Severance Pay Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Ministers’ Severance Pay

Alan Brown Excerpts
Monday 11th July 2022

(2 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Nigel Evans Portrait Mr Deputy Speaker
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Mr Brown, let’s see if you can do better than your colleague.

Alan Brown Portrait Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)
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Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. When the new Education Minister gave a one-fingered salute to the crowd outside Downing Street, that was symptomatic of this Government, who have been putting two fingers up to the entire UK for the tenure of the former Prime Minister. Given that we have a zombie Government, with Ministers who are clearly in place on a temporary basis, does this Minister agree that they should not take severance payments when they rightfully get sacked when a new Tory leader comes in?

Heather Wheeler Portrait Mrs Wheeler
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The hon. Gentleman is slightly off point regarding the Education Minister; I would like him to remember that the lady in question has had seven death threats against her, and the way the baying mob were reacting at the time was astonishing. As regards anything else, people will use the three-week window to decide whether they take the severance payment or not, and the law is the law.