Them and us fishes, image by Suzanne Beishon

Them and us fishes, image by Suzanne Beishon   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Pension plunder

The head of privatised power network National Grid will retire on £11,000 – a week. The governor of the Bank of England has cost us a quarter of a million in travel expenses. And David Cameron gave generous raises of up to £18,000 to top aides while slashing public sector pay.

Former National Grid chief exec Steve Holliday turns 60 in October. He will be eligible for a pension of £591,000 a year, including shares. That could pay for 25 staff nurses.

Holliday retired at 59. Many workers will wait until 68 – or older – for an annual pension of less than he earns in a week.

Mark Carney, boss of the UK’s central bank, has only been in office three years. A Freedom of Information request reveals he has claimed nearly £250,000 in luxury foreign travel in that time.

His annual pay package adds up to £879,000. That’s 38 staff nurses.

And hated ex-prime minister David Cameron hiked special advisors’ pay by up to 24% during his tenure. Millions of workers instead had their pay cut.

After losing the top job, Cameron has now resigned from parliament. He will have only his huge family wealth, top-level connections, and ministerial pension to rely on.


Coaster crime

The boss of theme park Alton Towers will likely keep his job after presiding over a horrific rollercoaster crash.

Two young people lost a leg and 14 others were injured in the ‘Smiler’ crash last June. At the time of writing, chief executive Nick Varney is still in post, and due a £1.4 million share bonus.

Investigators found a series of safety failings led to the crash, described as “foreseeable” by a judge. Health and safety is an inconvenience when there’s profit to be made.