IN MY VIEW Raking it in on the gravy train

THERE is a lot of fear about the UK’s economic meltdown following Brexit.

If this is the case, then why on earth did 17 million people vote to leave?

In many ways it was the extravagance and wastefulness of Brussels that turned so many people off the EU.

As a former management consultant I’ve done investigations into waste in the private and public sector but I was surprised at the scale of it in the EU when I researched my book in 2009.

Becoming an MEP is a bit like joining a millionaires’ club – you can easily live like royalty and still walk away with more than £1 million saved up.

These figures show you the sort of sums we are talking about.

Their pensions – payable when they reach 63 – are taxed at a low EU rate and inflation protected for life. The transitional allowances – given to MEPs when they leave office – are tax-free, I believe.

But they are in receipt of other payments too.

One of the main income streams is the subsistence allowance they get, which MEPs continue to enjoy despite significant EU reforms on expenses in 2009.

Subsistence allowance currently stands at £260 a day.

The sum is meant to pay for meals and accommodation.

But living as an MEP can be quite cheap.

With so many lobbyists treating Eurocrats to champagne, fine food and wine receptions almost every evening, most MEPs probably spend only £80 to £90 a day.

That goes mostly on accommodation. That leaves up to £170 extra. Assuming an MEP works 150 days a year, I estimate they could save up to £25,000 a year.

To qualify for the payments you simply need to turn up to the European Parliament, wherever it is sitting, and sign the register each day. It is that simple. It is jokingly referred to as SOSO – Sign On and Sod Off.

Add these subsistence payments, salaries, transitional allowances and pensions to other benefits such as staff, travel and office costs and you could easily save £1 million in a five-year term.

Britain’s 73 MEPs may be leaving Brussels, but the gravy train will carry on for some time yet for the 678 European politicians keeping their jobs after 2019.