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By Ned Simons - 19th August 2010
Media-hungry MPs should cover themselves in adverts in order to raise money to pay down the deficit, according to one suggestion on the government’s Spending Challenge website.
In June chancellor George Osborne invited members of the public to submit ideas on how the government could cut public spending.
Yesterday the Treasury published a list of suggestions received, asking visitors to the site to vote on their favourites.
Inevitably, MPs and Parliament are targeted for spending cuts.
But perhaps the most inventive suggestion is that in the age of 24-hour news MPs should cover themselves in adverts in order to raise money.
"MPs are on TV a lot and also in the newspapers. However, they're always wearing boring dull suits," one website visitor observes.
"They could (and should) be more like football players/F1 cars/billboards and be covered in adverts."
They suggest that it would work much in the same way as football teams, with the more famous MPs getting "cool sponsors like beer and phone companies".
While inevitably the less well known backbenchers would be stuck with "less cool" sponsors such as plumbing companies, funeral homes and vets.
"This idea would also incentivise gaining more of a reputation as a good MP as then they'd get better sponsors," they add.
The voter does acknowledge that it may take some time for MPs to attract advertising, and suggests waiting until October before issuing them their MP uniform with their respective sponsor on.
All money from the adverts could then be used by the government to reduce the deficit.
Other suggestions that target MPs and Parliament include ending subsidised food and drink on the parliamentary estate as well as banning the drinking of alcohol when the Commons is in session.
They also suggest the "considerable stock of wine in the parliamentary cellars" be sold off to raise more cash to trim the deficit.
Another idea that is unlikely to be popular with MPs is the suggestion that their salaries be means-tested, with the pay of backbenchers and cabinet ministers being weighted depending on any outside income and their partner's salary.
And the suggestion that MPs be paid £5.80 an hour, the National Minimum Wage, is also unlikely to be approved.
At the end of August the Treasury plans to review the ideas with the most potential and investigate them in further detail to see if and how they could be implemented.
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