Snout well and truly in the trough

The worst Speaker that many can recall, Mr Michael Martin, has won the right to retain a gold-plated pensions package of £836,000 on top of a £572,000 pension he has so far accumulated as an MP. So when the Speaker retires as an MP, or loses his seat at the next general election, he will do so with one of the most generous pensions of anyone in the UK, around £1.4million.

Only the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker - are allowed publicly-funded index-linked "life" pensions. This type of pension entitles them to half their ministerial salary, regardless of how long they have served, every year from when they step down until they die. This may explain why as I have blogged previously the likes of Jack Straw and Alan Johnston might be tempted to become a caretaker PM for even a very short period. This would allow them to retire in some luxury and certainly in more luxury than those of us in the private sector will ever be able to afford.