Simon Kuper
speaker
89 appearances
2 recordings
2 series
first heard Sep 2024
last heard 4 Jun
Simon Kuper’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 1.
Appearances
And he doesn't seem to understand, although, of course, he's a very good communicator, he doesn't seem to understand that to average British people, this is an unfathomable amount. And the thing is, he's comparing himself not to average British people. You compare yourself to Notting Hill. So... The 91 grand means completely different things inside the Beltway, as it were, and outside.
That's what happened to London. London became the city in Europe with the most rich people, while our political and public realm decayed and became poorer.
It's now relatively low compared to MPs in rich countries. We have a lot of MPs, but I do think it's relatively low. I think the worst thing for the MPs is the public abuse. So it's become a very low-status job. And, of course, now they can easily be reached and they're also afraid of being attacked. And so a lot of it is just misery. And we still have lots of people who want to be MPs.
It's still somehow a sexy job, but the reality of it is brutal and miserable. I mean, I would like to create a climate where people are quite positive about politicians. And unfortunately, with these labor donations, that immediately wipes out the idea that, you know, they might be good people who want the best for the country.
I think on both sides, most people go into politics thinking that they're good people who want the best for the country.
So I was offered Taylor Swift tickets by a public relations firm in Paris.
And the Financial Times rules on taking, I write for the FT, on taking gifts have become very strict.
And I thought, I can't even really be bothered. I have to go all the way across Paris, see this concert. And I asked my daughter, who's something of an expert, and she said, you would not enjoy it. As for football, I've, as a journalist, covered hundreds and hundreds of football matches, so it would be a bit of a busman's holiday. So, you know, I'd say no thank you to both.
Thanks, both of you. Thank you.
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