Back in the day, MPs weren't paid. The problem with this system is so obvious ... well, if it's so obvious I won't bother to explain it
Initially, MPs were paid in order to attract capable men (well, back in those days women were kept in their place
) who otherwise would not be able to become members. This basically sound idea has mutated horrendously. Perks and allowances should go. Increase the flat salary (though not by too much) and cut out the peripheral shiite. And if this salary is not enough to attract the "best" people from the private sector, so what. It was many of these "'best' people", particulary in the finnancial sector, whose crookedness and inefficiency caused the recent recession. They obviously couldn't run an orgy in a whorehouse; so why should they be any better at running a country?