With their newly announced pay raises of £7,600, it might not always seem like MPs really are all in it together with the rest of us, but at least one politician’s wife is embracing the spirit of austerity.
Sally Bercow has been on a thrifty spending spree this week on eBay, tracking down a brushed chrome loo roll stand for £5.49. It’s not surprising that Sally seems to be keen to cut corners on household items. After her *innocent face* tweet incorrectly suggested that Lord McAlpine was involved in a paedophile scandal, Bercow went on to fight and lose a libel case against the Tory peer, leaving her with costs and damages that are believed to be as high as £100,000.
Presumably the loo roll holder is not destined for the Speaker’s quarters but will take pride of place in her new seven-bedroom flat in Battersea, which the Bercows bought last year.
This is not the first time Sally has revealed her passion for eBay. Last month she raised eyebrows by using the auction site to sell off over £1,600 of furniture, inviting buyers to drop by the Houses of Parliament to pick up their purchases. Most of her transactions went smoothly, but the would-be-buyer of an £11 armchair was left sorely disappointed. “Woefully inadequate communication,” they remarked in the comment section, “reneged on the deal”.
