Nuts in November: Question 1, Nadine, What is Jenny's Pay?

As LOL revealed exclusively HERE last Wednesday and followed up HERE last Thursday Ms Nadine Dorries MP has followed up her employment of one Philippa Dorries on the taxpayer with employment of one Jennifer Dorries on the taxpayer. And the common surnames are not in fact a coincidence. They are all related!

LOL published the story at this point because Nadine had swiftly tweet-responded to a comment we made over at Lord Dale's Diary. She would also go on to spoon-fed a rather positive spin of the story to Paul Waugh of the Standard. Building on her tweeted story of an attempted £250 retainer from a journalist, which completely failed, but which nonetheless, she says, pushed her into employing family members. Not logical exactly. But that doesn't mean it's not true.

Kevin Maguire of the Mirror posted that the supposed senior broadsheet journalist who had supposedly tried this supposed sourcing said the story was completely and utterly untrue. Nadine's word against theirs. I wonder. Journalist vs MumP? It's not an easy one to call.

But the Sunday Mirror followed up and followed through. To a point.

This new appointment is not in the least bit apparent from Part Two of the Register of Members Interests editions dated either 2 September 2009 (html) or 14 October 2009 (pdf). But habeus corpus! Young Jennifer turned up in person at the start of the session. What's more she was, we're told by co-conspirators, the life and soul of the Sports and Social on Friday 9 October Friday 16 October.

This of course being the bar where the ill-used and generally ill-paid researcherati, and spectacularly so internerati, do gather of a Friday evening. To get bevvied as it goes. On Tax-payer subsidised brews, fermentations and distillations.

With she confesses "not a political bone in my body" young Jennifer is it seems blessed with no tribal feelings or sectarianism whatsoever. An appealing trait and even perhaps a good start for a Young Socialist. But I digress. Jen also appears to have little or no "nous" as sayeth we Mancurians (tm @ToryBear).

She was happy to be everyone's mate and they hers. Until that is the hoi polloi became slightly less sure that she was indeed just like them. Apart from not giving a flying fig about politics, which is the average bag carrier's life blood. As the precocious Jennifer revealed her absolute glee at her very generous terms and conditions. And her being so generally unskilled, unknowing and inexperienced to boot.

Only three months before, on Friday 6 July at 6:33pm Jennifer's own MumP ("Mum-pee" please, not "mump") Ms Nadine Dorries had risen to her feet in the Commons Chamber and combined great joy at Jennifer's degree result and great sadness at her probable fate, never getting a job but forever saddled with student debt. Whatever was she to do with her poor daughter? Well worth a read. No published video or audio I can find at the moment.

But no! No need to worry at all!! Jennifer Dorries has been able to enjoy a lovely summer break after graduation and to return to a plum job, working for her MumP. So here's the question, and the supplementary:

Question 1: Nadine, Jennifer claimed, amongst her peers, that she was being paid some £50,000. As you can imagine this was a quite astonishing claim and her new mates, thinking she might be getting mixed up or pulling their legs, asked her to explain how this could possibly be. Obviously she may have been mixed up or exaggerating or whatever, but this is certainly what she was heard to say, and not just once.
She apparently also said that her MumP was swinging this by putting her in charge of not only her Westminster office replacing her big sister Philippa 1, but also her constituency office, replacing her big sister's namesake (no relation) Philippa 2.
Meanwhile the Mirror's hacks have split the difference between what they think are the top and bottoms of the scale for Office Manager / Executive Secretary (the top of the tree) and arrived at an estimate of £28,000 per annum. Though their figures were not up-to-date with the real mid-point now being around £30,700. Other scales are there too btw. Check the ranges for bog-standard researcher and caseworker.
Which is correct? £28,000 for the one job? or £50,000 for the both as Jennifer was saying down the SandS? The stone proof of course will be in the correspondence with the pass office and the fees office, the staff registrations, the requisitions, and the payslips which you are welcome to produce at this point should you wish. Then we can all be very clear on all this. Then all the he said she said she said he said would become quite irrelevant.

Q1a the supplementary: Post Conway and Post Telegraph and Mid Legg and Pre Kelly how did you, Nadine, think it would look employing a series of Little Dorrieses in this way? Where's the meritocracy in that? Isn't there some rule about value for money? When the usual starting pay for a Politics or Economics or similar Graduate, often with an MA and an intense interest in Party Politics is in fact £18,000 or thereabouts. Why would you pay so much more? Some even "pay to play" as long-term interns. Perhaps £25,000 at an absolute stretch. How on earth did you think this would look to the public? Already so very angry about you MPs and your liberties?

This is the first of Nadine's 30 Daily Questions for LOL's squirelling away "Nuts in November" series. There'll be two tomorrow to catch up for yesterday. If you know any MPs who have taken on rellies in a similar way, if it were possible - Post Conway, Post Telegraph, Mid Legg or Pre Kelly please do let us know. Irrespective of party we'll take a look. Thanks.



UPDATE Tue 21:08: Just checked submitted evidence and find the date of the great unburdening of the MumP's Number 2 daughter was on Friday 16 October going on Saturday 17 October, not Friday 9 October. Apologies.