This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23262503
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 8 | Version 9 |
|---|---|
| MPs' pay: Watchdog calls for rise of more than £6,000 | MPs' pay: Watchdog calls for rise of more than £6,000 |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| MPs' pay should be increased by £6,000 to £74,000 a year from 2015, the Commons expenses watchdog has said. | MPs' pay should be increased by £6,000 to £74,000 a year from 2015, the Commons expenses watchdog has said. |
| But the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) also recommends cuts to perks such as meal allowances and taxis and a less generous pension scheme. | But the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) also recommends cuts to perks such as meal allowances and taxis and a less generous pension scheme. |
| And "golden goodbyes" paid to retiring MPs could also be trimmed. | And "golden goodbyes" paid to retiring MPs could also be trimmed. |
| The plan has been condemned by party leaders and some MPs who say Ipsa should go back to the drawing board. | The plan has been condemned by party leaders and some MPs who say Ipsa should go back to the drawing board. |
| The watchdog is to consult on the rise but MPs can not block it because they handed control of the decision to the independent body in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal. | The watchdog is to consult on the rise but MPs can not block it because they handed control of the decision to the independent body in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal. |
| A Downing Street spokesman said: "The cost of politics should go down not up. And MPs' pay shouldn't go up while public sector pay is, rightly, being constrained." | A Downing Street spokesman said: "The cost of politics should go down not up. And MPs' pay shouldn't go up while public sector pay is, rightly, being constrained." |
| Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who has said he will not take the increase, said it was "about the worst time to advocate a double-digit pay increase for MPs", adding that the public would find it "incomprehensible". | |
| 'Fixes and fudges' | 'Fixes and fudges' |
| Labour leader Ed Miliband said he did not believe the rise should go ahead - and confirmed he would not take it if it did, but he said he was confident Ipsa would change its recommendation after a public backlash. | Labour leader Ed Miliband said he did not believe the rise should go ahead - and confirmed he would not take it if it did, but he said he was confident Ipsa would change its recommendation after a public backlash. |
| "I don't think MPs should be getting a 10% pay rise when nurses and teachers are facing either pay freezes or very low increases and people in the private sector are facing similar circumstances," said Mr Miliband. | "I don't think MPs should be getting a 10% pay rise when nurses and teachers are facing either pay freezes or very low increases and people in the private sector are facing similar circumstances," said Mr Miliband. |
| Prime Minister David Cameron has criticised the proposed increase but a No 10 source declined to comment on whether he would be taking it. Pressed on the question, the PM's spokesman said: "It's not a pay rise. It's a proposal". | Prime Minister David Cameron has criticised the proposed increase but a No 10 source declined to comment on whether he would be taking it. Pressed on the question, the PM's spokesman said: "It's not a pay rise. It's a proposal". |
| He pointed out the package was still to go out to consultation and Downing Street would be submitting its own response. | |
| The Ipsa proposals include: | The Ipsa proposals include: |
| Ipsa chairman Sir Ian Kennedy said: "The history of MPs' pay and pensions is a catalogue of fixes, fudges and failures to act. The package we put forward today represents the end of the era of MPs' remuneration being settled by MPs themselves. | Ipsa chairman Sir Ian Kennedy said: "The history of MPs' pay and pensions is a catalogue of fixes, fudges and failures to act. The package we put forward today represents the end of the era of MPs' remuneration being settled by MPs themselves. |
| "For the first time, an independent body will decide what MPs should receive. We will do so in full view, and after consultation with the public." | "For the first time, an independent body will decide what MPs should receive. We will do so in full view, and after consultation with the public." |
| 'Obscene' | 'Obscene' |
| Sir Ian told BBC Radio 5 Live that MPs should be treated like "modern professionals" and part of the package was a "radical proposal" to introduce an annual "report card" to show the public what MPs did for their money. | |
| He said the pay rise proposal was "fair" because MPs' pay had "fallen back" over the years and they needed to properly rewarded for the job they did, adding that the expenses scandal had been the result of too much pay restraint. | He said the pay rise proposal was "fair" because MPs' pay had "fallen back" over the years and they needed to properly rewarded for the job they did, adding that the expenses scandal had been the result of too much pay restraint. |
| He said there was never a good time to increase salaries, but said the changes were designed to "last a generation rather than just respond to the latest political issue", and taken together with the expenses reforms would save taxpayers money. | |
| "When you look at the package as a whole it is fair to the taxpayer and fair to MPs," he told callers to the Victoria Derbyshire phone-in programme. | "When you look at the package as a whole it is fair to the taxpayer and fair to MPs," he told callers to the Victoria Derbyshire phone-in programme. |
| He said he would over the next two months listen to the views of the public who had taken part in the consultation on the Ipsa website, but he believed the package was not over-generous and was in line with previous recommendations by the senior salaries review board and other bodies. | He said he would over the next two months listen to the views of the public who had taken part in the consultation on the Ipsa website, but he believed the package was not over-generous and was in line with previous recommendations by the senior salaries review board and other bodies. |
| Sir Ian is paid £700 a day and works on average two days a week, which he said added up to an annual salary of between £60,000 and the "high 70s". | Sir Ian is paid £700 a day and works on average two days a week, which he said added up to an annual salary of between £60,000 and the "high 70s". |
| MPs are currently paid £66,396, but that is due to rise to £67,060 in April 2014 and rise by a further 1% the following year. | MPs are currently paid £66,396, but that is due to rise to £67,060 in April 2014 and rise by a further 1% the following year. |
| The recommendation amounts to a rise of around £6,300 a year, or 9.3%, on what MPs would be getting in 2015. | The recommendation amounts to a rise of around £6,300 a year, or 9.3%, on what MPs would be getting in 2015. |
| Some MPs have attacked the proposals, saying Ipsa should have taken greater account of the state of the wider economy and the pay freeze across the public and private sector. | Some MPs have attacked the proposals, saying Ipsa should have taken greater account of the state of the wider economy and the pay freeze across the public and private sector. |
| Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "MPs are incredibly well paid anyway," adding: "Ipsa - it's a bit of a silly organisation really and pay rise? They can stick it." | |
| Margaret Hodge, Labour chairwoman of the influential Public Accounts Committee, said it was "inappropriate at a time when every public sector worker is being asked to take a 1% rise" that MPs should be out of line. | Margaret Hodge, Labour chairwoman of the influential Public Accounts Committee, said it was "inappropriate at a time when every public sector worker is being asked to take a 1% rise" that MPs should be out of line. |
| But Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "I don't believe that MPs are remunerated sufficiently for the job that they do, if you want to attract the right sort of people. | |
| "I don't want Parliament to be only for people of independent wealth, for people who treat it [their salary] as pocket money." | |