Another nail....

Let's be honest my friends, some stuff just pisses you off. We try very hard to stay balanced, even-tempered and moderate but then something comes along that does it again -bangs another nail into the coffin of your sanity.

Today, despite West Ham finally winning a game - away from home against a proper team - I am sorely tried. A miasma of gloom has descended upon me prompted by the futility of it all.

And then I read this....

The chief executives of 10 housing associations who are paid more than David Cameron will be targeted by the housing minister, Grant Shapps, at the associations' annual conference in Birmingham tomorrow. He will tell the National Housing Federation conference that since the prime minister cut his salary to £142,500 when he took office in May, housing associations should review how much they pay their senior staff and should subject them to the same scrutiny as ministers and public bodies.

One of the targeted organisations - Places for People - is one of the UK's largest property management and regeneration companies. It has nearly £3bn in assets and manages over 60,000 houses. Its 2009 turnover was approaching £290 million. It's a big, complex, PRIVATE, organisation and it pays its Chief Exectuive over £200,000.

I don't see this as a problem. And certainly not a problem meriting a cheap headline for a government minister.

Grant Shapps is a Tory. We believe in private organisations doing what private organisations do best. Housing associations are private organisations - how much they pay their bosses is absolutely nothing...nothing...zilch...to do with Mr Shapps.

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