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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% increase 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 turn down the rise. One union said the rise did not "seem right" when "low paid" council workers' salaries were frozen. | 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. | 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 | 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. |
| 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 | Teaching assistants, school dinner ladies, social care workers, road sweepers will get nothing Dave Prentis, Unison |
| Downing Street said ministers would not take any rise, either in their basic MPs' pay or their additional ministerial salaries. | Downing Street said ministers would not take any rise, either in their basic MPs' pay or their additional ministerial salaries. |
| Cabinet ministers currently get an extra £79,754 per year, giving them a total salary of £144,520. | Cabinet ministers currently get an extra £79,754 per year, giving them a total salary of £144,520. |
| 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." | 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." |
| The Conservatives will match the government's stance, with shadow ministers not taking the pay rise. | The Conservatives will match the government's stance, with shadow ministers not taking the pay rise. |
| The Tories have promised a 5% cut in ministerial salaries if they win the general election. | The Tories have promised a 5% cut in ministerial salaries if they win the general election. |
| Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and his deputy Vince Cable will also forgo the pay rise. | Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and his deputy Vince Cable will also forgo the pay rise. |
| 'Damaged morale' | '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. | 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. |
| HAVE YOUR SAYMPs do not do enough to be able to claim that they deserve such payRob Send us your comments | |
| Dave Prentis, general secretary of public sector workers' union Unison accepted the review's recommendations should be honoured. | 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. | "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." | "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." |