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MPs to get nearly £1,000 pay rise MPs to get nearly £1,000 pay rise
(40 minutes later)
MPs will get a rise of nearly £1,000 in their basic salary from 1 April, taking their pay to £65,737 a year.MPs will get a rise of nearly £1,000 in their basic salary from 1 April, taking their pay to £65,737 a year.
The 1.5% rise follows uproar at the MPs' expenses scandal and anger among public sector unions at pay freezes. The 1.5% increase follows uproar at the MPs' expenses scandal and anger among public sector unions at pay freezes.
MPs used to vote on their pay but now recommendations by the Senior Salaries Review Body go through automatically.MPs used to vote on their pay but now recommendations by the Senior Salaries Review Body go through automatically.
The government says ministers will not accept the rise in order to "strengthen public confidence" and "reduce the cost of politics". The government says ministers will turn down the rise. One union said the rise did not "seem right" when "low paid" council workers' salaries were frozen.
The Local Government Association has said 1.4 million workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will get no rise as authorities try to protect front-line services and minimise job losses.
Tory warning
SSRB chairman Bill Cockburn wrote to Commons Speaker John Bercow at the end of February to inform him of the rise.SSRB chairman Bill Cockburn wrote to Commons Speaker John Bercow at the end of February to inform him of the rise.
'Not accepting'
The review body calculates MPs' pay based on the median increases given to 15 other groups of public sector workers.The review body calculates MPs' pay based on the median increases given to 15 other groups of public sector workers.
Teaching assistants, school dinner ladies, social care workers, road sweepers will get nothing Dave Prentis, Unison
Doctors and dentists, NHS managers, the judiciary and the senior civil service have all been handed increases of 1.5% for the next financial year.Doctors and dentists, NHS managers, the judiciary and the senior civil service have all been handed increases of 1.5% for the next financial year.
Downing Street said its ministers would not take the pay rise, because of the need to cut costs and restore faith in the wake of the expenses scandal. Downing Street said ministers would not take any rise, either in their basic MPs' pay or their additional ministerial salaries.
"That is why paid government ministers will not be accepting the pay rise in MP salaries generated by the annual formula and based on the average pay award across the public sector in the previous year," a Downing Street spokeswoman said. Cabinet ministers currently get an extra £79,754 per year, giving them a total salary of £144,520.
"They will also not be accepting a rise in ministerial salaries this year." A No 10 spokeswoman said: "The prime minister is clear that we need to strengthen public confidence in the political system and reduce the cost of politics."
At the moment, cabinet ministers get £79,754 in ministerial pay on top of their MP's salary of £64,766, giving them a total annual salary of £144,520.
Conservative leader David Cameron warned senior Tories they would have to "take a lead" in bringing down costs if they won power at the general election - following reports he intended to cut ministerial pay.Conservative leader David Cameron warned senior Tories they would have to "take a lead" in bringing down costs if they won power at the general election - following reports he intended to cut ministerial pay.
In December's pre-Budget report, Labour announced belt-tightening measures including a 1% cap on public sector pay rises and an increase in National Insurance from 2011. 'Damaged morale'
In December's pre-Budget report, Labour announced belt-tightening measures for 2011-12 including a 1% cap on public sector pay rises and an increase in National Insurance.
The Conservatives have promised to freeze all public sector pay for those earning more than £18,000, excluding members of the armed forces, for a year from 2011.The Conservatives have promised to freeze all public sector pay for those earning more than £18,000, excluding members of the armed forces, for a year from 2011.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of public sector workers' union Unison accepted the review's recommendations should be honoured.
"However, it does not seem right that MPs can get a 1.5% pay increase - worth £1,000 a year on basic pay - when low-paid workers such as teaching assistants, school dinner ladies, social care workers, road sweepers will get nothing, because their pay is being frozen.
"They [the MPs] might also want to contemplate the speeches and seminars calling for lengthy pay restraint in the public sector and the damage they cause to morale and public confidence."