London Mayor's £250,000 'chicken feed'

[edesignuk]

London Mayor Boris Johnson has described his £250,000-a-year pay for a weekly column for the Daily Telegraph as "chicken feed".

He told the BBC's Hard Talk programme that it was wholly reasonable for him take the second salary in addition to about £140,000 he gets as mayor.

He added: "Of course I make a substantial donation to charity".

His comments came as Tory leader David Cameron asked shadow cabinet members to give up their second jobs by December.

When asked about the pay for the articles Mr Johnson said: "It's chicken feed.

"I think that frankly there's absolutely no reason at all why I should not knock off an article as a way of relaxation.

"I write anyway, I happen to write extremely fast.

"I don't see why on a Sunday morning I shouldn't knock off an article - if someone wants to pay me for that article then that's their lookout and of course I make a substantial donation to charity. BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8148899.stm).

What. A. Cock.

[WinterMute]

The man's a clown, he has the political instincts of a jellyfish.

This goes right alongside telling a room full of homeless folks that "my house costs a fortune".

I'm embarrassed to have him running my city.

[killerrobot]

What. A. Cock.

Ba, dum, dum... chin


Seriously, it made me laugh. "Chicken feed". "Cock".

Oh and the whole thing about him telling others to quit their second jobs, while he just has a "hobby" that people pay him for.

[arkitect]

Boris the buffoon encapsulates the dilemma that the UK will face when the next election rolls round…

He got elected because frankly Livingstone was unelectable and there was no real alternative. Brian Paddick? Right party, wrong candidate.

Comes next general election, do we stick with the "devil we know", aka Not so New anymore Labour or get sucked in by the Tories and their smooth talking "Believe us, we've changed!"?

Imagine a whole cabinet of puffed up Boris types for whom £250,000 really is chicken feed.

What an arse.

[iBlue]

Boris the buffoon encapsulates the dilemma that the UK will face when the next election rolls round…

He got elected because frankly Livingstone was unelectable and there was no real alternative. Brian Paddick? Right party, wrong candidate.

Comes next general elaction, do we stick with the "devil we know", aka Not so New anymore Labour or get sucked in by the Tories and their smooth talking "Believe us, we've changed!"?

Imagine a whole cabinet of puffed up Boris types for whom £250,000 really is chicken feed.

What an arse.

I worry the same thing. :o :(

[djellison]

So what we'll end up with is chronic turn out for the big three, and the very real risk of extreme fringe parties like the BNP etc getting representation in the Commons.

It's terrifying.

I honestly think there is scope right now for someone to come forward, start a new political party from scratch, with some common sense, some honesty, some straight talking, and to take the fight to the stale outdated parties we have now an action some proper reform in Westminster.

[Queso]

If you're Welsh or Scottish you at least have an option. Vote Nationalist and get out of the UK. The English are stuck with this bunch of idiots.

I'm going to go Lib Dem next time, for one reason. They advocate serious political reform. At the moment that's the only way we're going to change the smug bunch of arseholes we're seeing day after day. I hope that enough of us do the same to break this two-party stagnation.

[edesignuk]

Video clip of the interview (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8149313.stm).

Makes me want to smack him.




...more than usual.

And yes, we're totally screwed with our options come general election time (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=689605).

[robbieduncan]

I'm going to go Lib Dem next time

It's a risky strategy to be sure. I did it last time and got George Galloway in return. I hope you are more lucky than me!

[mkrishnan]

Why would the telegraph pay him such an exorbitant rate anyways? It seems like an excessive sum for a weekly column -- I would be surprised if many of the best columnists in the world get paid that much.

[edesignuk]

Why would the telegraph pay him such an exorbitant rate anyways?A very good question, to which I'd also love to know the answer.

A few words from this halfwit each week cannot possibly be worth any where near that amount of money.

Does anyone know what he was getting paid by them before he became Mayor? (If he even worked for them at all).

[robbieduncan]

Does anyone know what he was getting paid by them before he became Mayor? (If he even worked for them at all).

He appears to have first joined the Telegraph in 1989. It is unclear if he has written for them since then or if there have been breaks. source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson#Journalism_and_history)

[Eraserhead]

I wonder how much the BBC man doing the interview gets paid? I bet its more that £250k/year.

[oscillatewildly]

Good luck to him, earn what you can.

[pelicanflip]

Considering how Mayor Bloomberg of NYC gets paid $1.00 a year, I'd say London's mayor is a tad bit greedy...

[Zombie Acorn]

Good luck to him, earn what you can.

I agree, but on the same note you shouldn't act like a dipshit and call 250k "chicken feed" in the middle of an economic downturn. The people voting for you make that "chicken feed" after a cumulative 6+ years work.

[robbieduncan]

Considering how Mayor Bloomberg of NYC gets paid $1.00 a year, I'd say London's mayor is a tad bit greedy...

Mayor Bloomberg writes a weekly column in a national newspaper :confused:

[mkrishnan]

I agree, but on the same note you shouldn't act like a dipshit and call 250k "chicken feed" in the middle of an economic downturn. The people voting for you make that "chicken feed" after a cumulative 6+ years work.

It's an odd comment also considering it's ... almost twice his salary as Mayor....

[remmy]

If the Telegraph want to give him money thats up to them, but he is should think carefully before he speaks and shut up. Normally one of his advisers are on hand with a gag so he must of escaped them temporarily.

[Badandy]

Considering how Mayor Bloomberg of NYC gets paid $1.00 a year, I'd say London's mayor is a tad bit greedy...

Oh please. So any mayor making any money at all is greedy? I think everyone who has some common sense realizes Bloomberg doesn't take any money because he's a billionaire, and if he did he'd be strongly criticized.

[yojitani]

Boris the buffoon encapsulates the dilemma that the UK will face when the next election rolls round…

He got elected because frankly Livingstone was unelectable and there was no real alternative. Brian Paddick? Right party, wrong candidate.

Comes next general election, do we stick with the "devil we know", aka Not so New anymore Labour or get sucked in by the Tories and their smooth talking "Believe us, we've changed!"?

Imagine a whole cabinet of puffed up Boris types for whom £250,000 really is chicken feed.

What an arse.

My worry as well. The bigger fear in my opinion is that because of the ineptitude of the 3 main parties combined with economic problems, war, and terrorism still being high on the agenda, parties like the BNP will get a voice. It's already happening.

[remmy]

My worry as well. The bigger fear in my opinion is that because of the ineptitude of the 3 main parties combined with economic problems, war, and terrorism still being high on the agenda, parties like the BNP will get a voice. It's already happening.

We are doomed :(

[oscillatewildly]

If a column took me 30 minutes to an hour to do, in the grand scheme of my working time I'd consider it 'chicken feed'. There is also an element of wind up, he knows people like Biggs and Shawcross are suckers for this. As for sensitivity, people moaning about their pay when others are starving? If someone is worrying about Boris' comment, how many problems do they really have?

Election - Boris won because Outer-London was fed up with Inner-London.

[pelicanflip]

Oh please. So any mayor making any money at all is greedy? I think everyone who has some common sense realizes Bloomberg doesn't take any money because he's a billionaire, and if he did he'd be strongly criticized.


I never said that any mayor making any money at all is greedy. Yes, Bloomberg is a billionaire, but yes, he's also doing a damn good job as a mayor. Many people feel that he is entitled to a salary for the job that he does, but he chooses not to take one.

To argue that he's rich and therefore doesn't deserve any money from a salary is your own opinion, don't project it onto the general populus.


My point is, as for the Mayor of London, the average salary in London is about £30,000, or about $49,000 USD. The salary that the mayor of London makes is £250,000 or about $409,000 USD.

The mayor makes about 835% of the average London citizen's salary. To call THAT chicken feed, is greedy.

Not to mention, that's his SECOND salary. His first salary is £140,000, or about $230,000 USD, or 470% of the average London citizen's salary.

So overall, he makes £390,000 per year, or $639,000 per year, which is 1304% of the average London citizen's salary.



I have NO IDEA how 1304% of the average salary, or $639,000 per year, is "chicken feed". To me, that's just plain greedy.

[Badandy]

To argue that he's rich and therefore doesn't deserve any money from a salary is your own opinion, don't project it onto the general populus.

No no no, I'm arguing the exact opposite of that. I could have sworn your previous response meant what it said:

Considering how Mayor Bloomberg of NYC gets paid $1.00 a year, I'd say London's mayor is a tad bit greedy...

[pelicanflip]

No no no, I'm arguing the exact opposite of that. I could have sworn your previous response meant what it said:

I'm just using Bloomberg's salary as a comparison. Maybe not the best thing to compare it to, given that he is in fact a billionaire already.


Are you saying that you're arguing that even if someone is rich, they deserve a salary?

If so, yes, I agree with you, they are perfectly entitled to a salary for whatever job they are doing.

I'm just trying to say that a salary of £390,000 per year, or $639,000 per year, which is 1304% of the average London citizen's salary, is not what I would define as "chicken feed".

[arkitect]

I'm just trying to say that a salary of £390,000 per year, or $639,000 per year, which is 1304% of the average London citizen's salary, is not what I would define as "chicken feed".

I agree.
I couldn't care less how much anyone earns — but the audacity to publicly claim that getting paid £250,000 is chicken feed is insulting to the vast majority of people.

What planet does he live on?

[Badandy]

I'm just using Bloomberg's salary as a comparison. Maybe not the best thing to compare it to, given that he is in fact a billionaire already.


Are you saying that you're arguing that even if someone is rich, they deserve a salary?

If so, yes, I agree with you, they are perfectly entitled to a salary for whatever job they are doing.

I'm just trying to say that a salary of £390,000 per year, or $639,000 per year, which is 1304% of the average London citizen's salary, is not what I would define as "chicken feed".

I'm in total agreement with you. He deserves whatever salaries government/companies are willing to pay him. But saying it's "chicken feed" seems really inappropriate. Perhaps he mispoke and was saying that his job of being a columnist is not nearly as important as his mayorship?

[robbieduncan]

I'm in total agreement with you. He deserves whatever salaries government/companies are willing to pay him. But saying it's "chicken feed" seems really inappropriate. Perhaps he mispoke and was saying that his job of being a columnist is not nearly as important as his mayorship?

From what I've read elsewhere it seems he thought he was defending the time taken to write the column (and thus not spent mayoring), not the cash and the hour or so he spent writing it on a Sunday morning was chicken feed.

What he actually said

It's chicken feed.

I think that frankly there's absolutely no reason at all why I should not knock off an article as a way of relaxation.

I write anyway, I happen to write extremely fast.

I don't see why on a Sunday morning I shouldn't knock off an article...

[arkitect]

From what I've read elsewhere it seems he thought he was defending the time taken to write the column (and thus not spent mayoring), not the cash and the hour or so he spent writing it on a Sunday morning was chicken feed.

What he actually said

I read that as well — a reader's comment on the BBC's site. ;)

Since when has "time spent" ever been described as "chicken feed"? He might as well have said "peanuts".

Strange choice of words.

[djellison]

From what I've read elsewhere it seems he thought he was defending the time taken to write the column (and thus not spent mayoring), not the cash and the hour or so he spent writing it on a Sunday morning was chicken feed.


Ditto.

[iBlue]

bullshyte. He said "chicken feed" RIGHT after the interviewer said £250,000. He meant it just as it sounds but realizes after the fact that he sounds like a cock and can only but backpedal in an attempt to save his 'reputation'.

[oscillatewildly]

Boris, the 'cock' to some of you, gets GBP 250,000 and the anti-Boris brigade get higher blood pressure. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

[edesignuk]

Boris, the 'cock' to some of you, gets GBP 250,000 and the anti-Boris brigade get higher blood pressure. Ha ha ha ha ha ha haI'm having trouble understanding the humour in your post, enlighten me.

[oscillatewildly]

I'm having trouble understanding the humour in your post, enlighten me.

A 'cock...clown...buffoon...' making GBP 250,000 for an hour a weekend, and a small number of people getting het up about stuff and nonsense - I find it amusing.

[WinterMute]

A 'cock...clown...buffoon...' making GBP 250,000 for an hour a weekend, and a small number of people getting het up about stuff and nonsense - I find it amusing.

Sure, it's funny that an over-privileged, know nothing, Tory scumbag is running my city in a time of deep recession when unemployment is climbing and everyone is in fear of their livelihoods, funny as *****.

Johnson only opens his mouth to change feet:

To a group of homeless Londoners: "My house is worth a fortune"
To a group of earthquake refugees in a tent city: "Just imagine you're all camping"
To the entire nation: (and I paraphrase clearly) "I get £250K for doing ***** all, you get nothing for working your arses off but a P45 and a city I'm crapping all over"

I'm embarrassed that he represents London to the world, he's a buffoon of the worst blue colour, even Red Ken, unelectable though he might be now, would have been better and I detest him.

He is everything that is bad about the Tory old guard, he knows and cares nothing for the people he supposedly represents.

Very funny.

[Eraserhead]

I read that as well — a reader's comment on the BBC's site. ;)

Since when has "time spent" ever been described as "chicken feed"? He might as well have said "peanuts".

Strange choice of words.

bullshyte. He said "chicken feed" RIGHT after the interviewer said £250,000. He meant it just as it sounds but realizes after the fact that he sounds like a cock and can only but backpedal in an attempt to save his 'reputation'.

Unless Boris has a secret unearned income of at least £1.5 to £2 million describing his £250k income from the Telegraph as chicken feed doesn't really make sense - and that income needs to be high enough that its still £1.5 million or so even though we are in a recession and the markets have dropped significantly.

Of course you could argue that he does have a large unearned income and is just hiding it, but if so then he wouldn't be spending it (or any capital) which would make his £250k rather more important than "chicken feed".

All in all the "time" thing makes much more sense.

[oscillatewildly]

Sure, it's funny that an over-privileged, know nothing, Tory scumbag is running my city in a time of deep recession when unemployment is climbing and everyone is in fear of their livelihoods, funny as *****.

Johnson only opens his mouth to change feet:

To a group of homeless Londoners: "My house is worth a fortune"
To a group of earthquake refugees in a tent city: "Just imagine you're all camping"
To the entire nation: (and I paraphrase clearly) "I get £250K for doing ***** all, you get nothing for working your arses off but a P45 and a city I'm crapping all over"

I'm embarrassed that he represents London to the world, he's a buffoon of the worst blue colour, even Red Ken, unelectable though he might be now, would have been better and I detest him.

He is everything that is bad about the Tory old guard, he knows and cares nothing for the people he supposedly represents.

Very funny.


Feel better?

[WinterMute]

Feel better?

Hell yes, but as this is a discussion forum how about discussing the issue not just sneering at it.

[Badandy]

Feel better?

Great comeback. Solidly constructured and well-executed. Bravo.

[oscillatewildly]

Hell yes, but as this is a discussion forum how about discussing the issue not just sneering at it.

I find worrying about Boris' comment funny, ******** funny when children are still growing up on 'sink estates', when they cannot read and when they are being abused, I find it effing ludicrous.

I don't have a problem with Boris being Mayor, Outer-London finally stuck it to Inner-London by getting rid of Henry's Cat, he'll have his time and be gone, maybe he will be replaced by another champagne socialist. One lot gets in, does some good, mostly screws up, gets voted out, the next lot - do some good, mostly screw up ...

Representing London to the world - does Berlusconi put you off Italy? Do you think most of the world knows who Ken Livingstone is?

Who do you think knows and cares about the 'people' ?

[iBlue]

Well summed up, WinterMute.


Unless Boris has a secret unearned income of at least £1.5 to £2 million describing his £250k income from the Telegraph as chicken feed doesn't really make sense - and that income needs to be high enough that its still £1.5 million or so even though we are in a recession and the markets have dropped significantly.

Of course you could argue that he does have a large unearned income and is just hiding it, but if so then he wouldn't be spending it (or any capital) which would make his £250k rather more important than "chicken feed".

All in all the "time" thing makes much more sense.

I'm not trying to make sense of it, I'm just listening to what he said and what I believe he really meant by it. I'm not wasting my time/fleeting sanity trying to understand the mind or finances of a politician (a tory, no less), no bloody thanks.

[WinterMute]

I find worrying about Boris' comment funny, ******** funny when children are still growing up on 'sink estates', when they cannot read and when they are being abused, I find it effing ludicrous.

I don't have a problem with Boris being Mayor, Outer-London finally stuck it to Inner-London by getting rid of Henry's Cat, he'll have his time and be gone, maybe he will be replaced by another champagne socialist. One lot gets in, does some good, mostly screws up, gets voted out, the next lot - do some good, mostly screw up ...

Representing London to the world - does Berlusconi put you off Italy? Do you think most of the world knows who Ken Livingstone is?

Who do you think knows and cares about the 'people' ?

That's my point though, when the kids are stabbing each other for crack and turf, and the adults are too stoned to give a *****, Johnson's inane utterances are not merely amusingly annoying, but utterly obcsene, obscene on a "let them eat cake" level.

Sure the politicians are failing at their jobs, as they always have and probably always will, but the fact the majority of us throw up our hands and roll our eyes does not make the situation any better.

Comparing Johnson to Berlusconi isn't even remotely useful, and I couldn't give a monkeys about his image, but when Johnson turned up in Bejing in his rumpled suit and his bumbling idiotic manner, the world laughed.

Plenty of politicians of all colours care about their constituents, they don't make the news very often, but they do the work that makes their communities better. Johnson has no idea about the life of 95% of the people in his care, and he clearly doesn't want to learn, at least Red Ken only hated the rich and the privileged, his prejudice ruined his effectiveness, as Johnson's prejudice ruins his.

Johnson panders to the people Livingstone alienated, which is a problem at the heart of two party politics.

A strong independent Major would be best, but they don't exist.

[BoyBach]

I don't know about the Telegraph paying BoJo £250,000, but his appearances on HIGNFY are priceless!

[oscillatewildly]

WinterMute -

'Chicken feed' comes down to those who believe it is about money and those who believe it is about time, clearly we are at opposites. I am still not convinced that someone struggling would give a rat's about the comment.

I used Berlusconi because you mentioned the world and he is tagged as a clown, and more. I don't gauge Italy by him and if I was outside the UK, I wouldn't judge London based on Boris.

China - some of the world laughed at him, some of it with him.

We disagree on Boris caring, but agree on an independent - hooray - power corrupting needs extra strong.


BoyBach -

HIGNFY - helped and hindered - popularity with a buffoon tag.