Should Cherie Blair keep her £30,000 fee for making a speech in Washington entitled "First Lady of Downing Street" or should she give the fee to charity?
She has been criticised for receiving this fee due to the fact that she is making money by exploiting Tony Blair's job.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4073570.stm
Or perhaps because it has been made off the back of a member of government it should go to the treasury?
What Cheri has done in indespicable........The only reason she is in this position is due to her husband...
It seems to be a normality that they take from charities to make money for charities.
Although she has done nothing wrong in the eyes of the law,....she has shown that they are out for what they can get like all politicians.
She should have been brought up a few years ago for useing Tony's office to conduct business to her own gain then maybe things would have been a little different.
THey can do what they want!.....SAme as her husband!....easy to give away others money or accept for what it is worth.
So everyone who is paid for making a speech about their own experience in life (judging by the title she will be making the speech about herself) should donate the fee to charity? I wonder how comedians would react if they were expected to donate the fees to charity for the chunks of their acts which are observations about their lives.
How much & when to give to charity is a personal choice, surely? Whether you're married to the Prime Minister (skimming quickly over the fact you happen to be a QC & as such your oratory skills should be worth paying for) or unemployed.
Maybe we should all give a percentage of our income to charity. (Some people already do - Cherie Blair may even be one but we'd not be impressed if she wanted broadcast it). We could feel glad in our happily little hearts that we were doing our 'bit' then :)
why the hell does everyone pick on her so much?
she is the Prime Ministers wife so she has to take all the flack he gets. Her life is completely intruded on. She is heavily restricted to what she can do as she has to follow him around. Along with this is a career and 4 kids.
Why should she have to act deifferently to other world leaders/politicains/first ladies who get paid bucket loads for speaking?
I don't think any of them should command such big fees but that's capitalism for you. Its supply and demand. Its not even English money but American's and they have far than enough. Even if she keeps the money she pays taxes so will be benefititng the country in some small way.
Which bit of the £30k should she give back? The 40% which the tax man gets which would go to pay for another nurse or teacher?
How about the amount she has to pay her speech writer(s), or her personal assistant or secretary? Of that £30k I'm guessing about £5k goes into the Blair's personal account. So should she give that to charity and claim giftaid to increase it to £7k?
Originally posted by Siān
So everyone who is paid for making a speech about their own experience in life (judging by the title she will be making the speech about herself) should donate the fee to charity? I wonder how comedians would react if they were expected to donate the fees to charity for the chunks of their acts which are observations about their lives.
How much & when to give to charity is a personal choice, surely? Whether you're married to the Prime Minister (skimming quickly over the fact you happen to be a QC & as such your oratory skills should be worth paying for) or unemployed.
Maybe we should all give a percentage of our income to charity. (Some people already do - Cherie Blair may even be one but we'd not be impressed if she wanted broadcast it). We could feel glad in our happily little hearts that we were doing our 'bit' then :)
As you are Labour your comments are obviouse..... keep them well....keep yourself well
So she's not just lowering herself to the level of chav celeb then, by seeking this sort of fame?
In Britain I thought it was cutomary to rise above this junk until after the real focus of attetion departed from office?
Originally posted by max
Which bit of the £30k should she give back? The 40% which the tax man gets which would go to pay for another nurse or teacher?
How about the amount she has to pay her speech writer(s), or her personal assistant or secretary? Of that £30k I'm guessing about £5k goes into the Blair's personal account. So should she give that to charity and claim giftaid to increase it to £7k? So what you are saying i that she is being paid for someone else's opinions that are current???
She accepts that the talk is about getting money for charity...yet puts herself forward to accept monies that are destined for those charities.
Originally posted by Delboy3
As you are Labour your comments are obviouse..... keep them well....keep yourself well
I have no idea about Sian's politics, but her views are as welcome as anybody else's.
You might easily argue that someone of a different political view should also shut up because their opinions will be straightforward as well.
As for me - were she Cherie Blair, QC, her views might be worth a lecture fee but not the amount she's getting. Once she is again a 'private citizen' then I feel she should be able to take whatever the market is willing to pay, but whilst she is associated with the PM then perhaps there is an isue.
Perhaps she should keep the part of the fee that she might be expected to get as a QC and put at least a portion of the remainder in to a charity?
I note that the interviewer from CNN who interviewed CB has given her fee over.
Joe