Andrew MacKay MP To Become a UK Consultant

10.16.13am GMT Thu 18th Feb 2010

The news that Andrew MacKay MP is to become a UK consultant and adviser to a well-known international public relations agency, when he steps down at the next General Election, is not really surprising. Cashing in on their time as MPs is what many have come to expect from our politicians.

What is surprising is that he should have chosen to take up such an appointment, which will almost certainly involve lobbying his former colleagues on behalf of his firm's clients, at a time when the Conservatives are opposed to the way the lobbying industry seeks to buy access to government. Mr Cameron has effectively blamed lobbyists for reducing public trust in politics and is rightly calling for stronger regulation and much greater transparency in lobbying.

Mr MacKay may therefore find it much more difficult than he imagined to gain access to members of a Conservative government, should his Party win the next election. If the Conservatives do not win the election, his reported 'six-figure' fee or salary will appear decidedly generous!

Yet again it seems Mr MacKay has just not 'got it'. The public are fed up with politicians lining their own pockets and feathering their own nests. They want their faith in Parliament restored and by taking up such a position he has demonstrated all too clearly why it is time for a change!