George Freeman, the UK’s former science minister, says that he stepped down in part because he could not afford to pay an increase in his mortgage payments on a ministerial salary.
Mr Freeman stepped down last November, saying it was time “to focus on my health, family well-being and life beyond the front bench”.
In a blog posted on 26 January, Mr Freeman writes that he was “so exhausted, bust and depressed that I was starting to lose the irrepressible spirit of optimism, endeavour, teamwork [and] progress which are the fundamentals of human achievement”.
But he adds in the blog, which was first reported by PoliticsHome, that he also quit “because my mortgage rises this month from £800 [per month] to £2,000, which I simply couldn’t afford to pay on a ministerial salary. That’s political economy 2.0.
