Nick Thomas-Symonds

Nick Thomas-Symonds

Labour — Torfaen

Speaking in the House of Commons on 17 March 2026

Debate

Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill

Contribution

I can reassure the former Deputy Prime Minister that that is absolutely not the objective of the Bill. He will have been involved in more reshuffles than me over the many years that he was either in No. 10 or subsequently as a Minister, but the objective is that we do not have the situation where there are unpaid Minister. That is the very clear objective of the Bill. The purpose of the legislation is that the Prime Minister has the flexibility to appoint enough paid Ministers to meet the demands of modern Government. There is general acceptance, which I agree with, that anyone in the country should aspire to be a Minister, no matter their background, without having to rely on personal wealth in lieu of a salary. On that basis, I hope that this short piece of legislation will command the support of Members across the House. I commend the Bill to the House.

More from Nick Thomas-Symonds

Other recent Hansard contributions by the same speaker.

About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.

For Nick Thomas-Symonds's full parliamentary record including voting history, expenses and all other contributions, see the Nick Thomas-Symonds report card.