Re: Is that all?
I don't know for sure whether that's just for the US, but if it were so, then consider that there are 435 elected officials in the US Congress and 100 Senators in the US Senate. So that's 535 people.
Now take the 11.2 million pounds and divide by 535 peeps, and you get 20,934 some pounds per official. That's about 29,800 US dollars. Really, it seems that our elected officials are selling us down the river for WAY TOO CHEAP.
They do not value our rights, our votes, our constitution highly enough. I'd feel much better if they sold us out for like a meeeellion dollars per each bribe, oops, I mean donation to the re-election campaign or PAC (Political Action committee).
But there is hope: Given that it's that cheap, relatively speaking, any grass-roots political organization can likely come up with $30,000 per each politician, and walk in, and say: Here Mr. Politician, we got $30,000, while these other cheap skates only got you $29,800, so who are you gonna listen to, us or them?
But wait, there is less hope, because the above would likely result in a bidding war, and we all know
how the "deepest pockets win" in that, so may be that's not how it's going to work. Seems it would be
enormously more profitable for politicians to publicly sell off their voting powers, in an "open outcry fashion", instead of the usual "hush-hush affair". I can just see it and hear it: "That gentleman from the Oil Industry just offered me 3 million pounds for my vote, to vote for the complete destruction of the planet, so do I hear a higher bid from the environmental gentle person on the left, yes, you can save the planet for just 3 million and 100,000 pounds, $3,100,000 is all it takes, do I hear more?" "What?"
"3 million and 25,000 pounds?" - "Sorry no, the minimum increment is 100,000 pounds now, we can't waste time with itsy bitsy increments, really!" - - - Ok, 3 million and 100,000 pounds it is to the wonderful gentle person, yes, yes, congrats, winning bid, fantastic, money well spent!" On to the next vote now! -
Sometimes my imagination just runs way ahead of me...