Minister claims $217,000 salary not enough to live on

A minister in the British government has quit his job because he says his yearly $217,000 salary isn't enough to live on.

Foreign Office minister Mark Simmonds will stand down from his post at the end of 2015 because he is unwilling to continue staying in London hotels hundreds of kilometres away from his family in Lincolnshire.

Mr Simmonds is paid $161,847 a year as a minister and MP and is entitled to $50,477 a year in expenses to rent and pay for a flat with him and his family.

His wife was also paid $45,237 a year to act as his office manager.

But according to the Telegraph.co.uk, Mr Simmonds said the money did not "stretch" far enough and he was forced to stay in hotels during the week when he was in London.

"I have to stay in a different hotel room every week and any parent would hate that – and I do," Mr Simmonds said.

"The accommodation allowance needs to provide for families – and it doesn't. When my children are on holiday they can't come and stay with me in London – I can't see them," he said.

"It has a really negative impact on the quality of life. I am not the only one who feels like this, but I am the only one at the moment who is doing anything about it."

According to Mr Simmonds, the current expenses system has turned many off from the idea of becoming a member of parliament because of the "negative impact on family life".

Mr Simmonds later told the BBC he was afraid he would not see his three children grow up.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk