The invisible man

It is now 62 days since Gordon Brown received an overwhelming vote of confidence from his constituents, who have asked him to continue serving them for another five years.  In fact, they are so confident in his abilities that they returned him with an increased majority.  However, it would appear that Mr. Brown doesn't seem too bothered by the wishes of his constituents.





Over the course of the last 62 days, Mr. Brown has received payment from the taxpayer for 54 days of serving his consituents.  One could argue that a vital part of representing one's constituents as an MP is not just to be present in the constituency, but also to represent them in Westminster.  To that end, a large number of MPs are in London on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, whilst remaining in their constitency between Friday and Monday.

It would appear that Mr. Brown does not think that the usual conventions apply to him.  Over the course of the 54 days for which he has been paid, how many times do you think he has been in Westminster?

Twenty days?  Ten days?  Five days?

The former PM makes a grand gesture to his constituents

No... just two.  Once to retake his Oath of Allegiance, and once to sit through six minutes of questions to the new environment secretary.  Considering the fact that the Oath of Allegiance takes just thirty seconds to recite, Mr. Brown has spent the grand total of six-and-a-half minutes 'representing' his constituents in Westminster.

Two particular no-shows stand out:

• Not appearing earlier in the week for the vote on the proposed VAT increase; despite a three-line-whip from his party ordering him to do so.
• Not attending the Budget statement last week.  Surely the financial mastermind who "saved the world" would have been most keen to hear (and debate) the Coalition's plans?

Over the course of the last 54 days, Gordon Brown has been paid £9,725.62.  This works out at the princely sum of £1,496.24 per minute for exercising his duties as an MP.  Such a sum is probably not far off that which his predecessor earns now on the after-dinner-speaking circuit.

It would appear that his constituents are getting treated with the same contempt as Westminster, too.  Reports claim that Brown is currently hard at work on his memoirs, as well as watching every match at the current World Cup; which must leave precious little time for doing his paid job.

There are rumours that the former PM is currently in the throes of a breakdown, and if that is the case then he has my utmost sympathy.  However, if that is the case then he is clearly not up to the rigours of the job and should make way for someone else so that he can recover at leisure, out of the gaze of the public.

For someone who made such a big deal of his Methodist background and parentage, maybe he'd like to consider displaying some of the famed Work Ethic.