Odious Rifkind encapsulates the arrogance of a rotten establishment

For a grandee of the establishment, losing an election is but a minor inconvenience. Malcolm Rifkind was ejected from Edinburgh Pentlands in 1997 only to resurface – shock horror - at Kensington and Chelsea in 2005. Poor old Malcolm wasn’t the only high profile politician to be handed a quick return after the pesky electorate dared to reject a pillar of the establishment. Michael Portillo was granted the same courtesy in 1999 – also Kensington and Chelsea – after the Blair landslide took a heavy toll on the tory ‘big beasts’.

After being caught prostituting himself and his enviable contact list to a bogus Chinese firm, there appears no shred of contrition. Indeed what do we plebs expect ‘professionals’ such as the venerable “Sir” Malcolm to do when paid a paltry £60k? It’s actually closer to £70k ++ but that would weaken the question-begging premise that such a salary would not attract ‘businessman’ and ‘professionals’. Who says that we want or necessarily need our parliament stuffed with rapacious city types who are only attracted by the bottom line?

The idea of public service seems to be lost on Rifkind. Perhaps he’s not aware that highly educated graduates work for causes that transcend remuneration? Teacher: Circa £30k; Senior heart surgeon (NHS): circa £100k. Yes, Rifkind’s private earnings took him well beyond that of somebody at the top of their profession conducting open-heart surgery. MPs are supposed to represent us. The average UK salary is £26k – which is itself positively skewed by stratospheric salaries at the top – while the person who sits in the middle of UK earners with half below and half above earns £21k. An MP’s salary – I suspect – would sound very attractive to millions of us. If £67k is not enough for “Sir” Malcolm, let him retire to some tax haven to enjoy a mutual moan with any other member of the business and professional elite who feels undervalued or over taxed by the derisory British State.

The establishment is in desperate need of a shake up and an accelerated departure of the self-congratulatory nexus of egotists can’t come soon enough.